Itronix operation will close at year’s end

After more than two decades in the Spokane area, General Dynamics Itronix’s operation will close at the end of the year, the location’s business director said Monday. Affected are 380 workers at the tech company in the Spokane Valley, said director John Schneider. About 20 will have the chance to stay and keep their sales and support jobs, said Schneider. Another 60 workers have the choice to relocate to the company’s new base, Sunrise, Fla. The net result: 300 General Dynamics workers will lose their jobs, most of them by July 1, said Schneider, who is also moving to Florida. The company makes ultrarugged laptops and handheld computers. Its main customers are the U.S. Defense Department, emergency responders, and companies with mobile workers. Schneider said General Dynamics Itronix will continue making those products and expanding its market share from Florida. But moving to Florida provides a way to leverage existing services and support already in place at another key General Dynamics site, he said. Originally spun out of Spokane tech firm Itron, Itronix was acquired by General Dynamics in September 2005. Itronix belongs to one of the global giant’s divisions — known as C4, for command and control, communications networking, computing and information assurance.