Lockheed To Cut Back In San Francisco Area

Lockheed Martin Corp.’s missiles and space unit will cut as many as 2,500 jobs in the San Francisco Bay area after it lost some contracts, sees delays in orders and attempts to cut costs.

The No.2 defense and aerospace company said 1,000 to 1,500 workers will be fired and the remainder will leave the company through retirement or other forms of attrition. The cuts represent about 26 percent of Lockheed’s missile and space workers in the Bay area.

The cuts come after the company recently lost a major contract to start managing a continental U.S. missile defense system and a weather satellite system for NASA. In addition, the company said orders have been delayed.