Boeing Reorganizes Southland Space Operations

Boeing Co., battered by a sharp downturn in the demand for commercial satellites and rockets, said Tuesday that it is making several administrative changes to its space operations in Southern California.

The changes, mainly organizational, won’t reduce the company’s workforce in the region or entail any facility moves, Boeing executives said.

They follow Boeing’s announcement last week that it would take a $1.1-billion pretax charge in the second quarter and stop seeking commercial buyers for its new Delta IV rocket. Boeing is scheduled to report its earnings today.

The charge includes the cost of stopping production of the commercial rocket and cost overruns on its commercial satellite-making business in El Segundo.

“The commercial space market has eroded to a point where it is no longer a driving factor in either our satellite or launch services,” said James Albaugh, president of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems.

Under the reorganization, Boeing aligned its El Segundo satellite unit under the space and intelligence systems subsidiary.

The expendable launch systems unit in Huntington Beach, which now primarily develops military rockets, will report to the Air Force systems subsidiary, while the Rocketdyne unit in Canoga Park, which makes rocket engines for the space shuttle, will come under Boeing’s NASA systems subsidiary.