Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company today announced it will be laying off roughly 1,200 employees by year-end, the bulk in middle-management positions.
The greatest impact is expected in three of the company’s locations including Denver, Sunnyvale, Calif., and the Delaware Valley region in Pennsylvania, the company said.
A company spokesman said it was too early to provide a breakdown of the jobs to be impacted at Lockheed’s Denver facility.
Space Systems employs about 16,000 in 12 states.
Middle management jobs are expected to be cut by 25 percent with a “significantly smaller percentage” of cuts in other levels and disciplines nationally.
“In today’s economic environment, we have two choices: make painful decisions now or pay a greater price down the road,” executive vice president Joanne Maguire said in a statement. “This is a difficult but necessary action to improve efficiencies and make our business more competitive going forward.”
The company will first offer eligible salaried employees voluntary layoff to minimize the number of involuntary layoffs. That process is expected to last a few weeks, spokesman Steve Tatum said.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 126,000 people worldwide.
