Prospective employees of a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture could be discouraged by further delays in the program’s approval, said Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. executive vice president Tom Clark.
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, the United Launch Alliance, a planned combination of the two aerospace companies’ rocket businesses, isn’t likely to receive federal approval by year’s end.
The alliance was announced in May but still requires Federal Trade Commission approval.
It would be based in Jefferson County and would employ 1,000 in Colorado.
The Journal story cited unnamed industry officials and others familiar with the matter.
Spokesmen for Lockheed and Boeing said Wednesday they are still working to close the deal by the end of the year.
“Obviously, timing is in the hands of the government, but we want to work with them to close this out,” said Boeing spokesman Dan Beck.
He called it an “extremely complex transaction.”
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. worked to persuade Boeing employees who develop the company’s Delta rockets in Huntington Beach, Calif., to move to Colorado for the United Launch Alliance.
The goal is to transfer 400 employees here and hire another 600 locally, some of whom could be Lockheed employees, Clark said.
“The longer it gets delayed, we expect that some of those folks who were excited to move may be having second thoughts,” he said.
“If that’s the case, we would offer our services back to Lockheed and Boeing to encourage those folks to move again.”
Space Exploration Technologies and Northrop Grumman have raised antitrust concerns about the deal.
“The concerns that we have raised with regulators in Washington are what we’re considering the unintended consequences that may result from the merger,” said Northrop Grumman spokesman Randy Belote.
“Because both Lockheed and Boeing are two primary competitors to Northrop Grumman in the manufacture of satellites, (we’re proposing) that the formation of this alliance may have some unintended consequences (on the satellite business).
“We’re asking that there be some formal regulatory checks and balances on this alliance.”
Staff writer Andy Vuong contributed to this report.
Staff writer Kelly Yamanouchi can be reached at kyamanouchi@denverpost.com or 303-820-1488.
