Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., a major business area of Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), said Monday that it will reduce about 800 employees or 4.5% of its overall workforce by the year-end in order to improve its competitive posture.
The workforce reductions is expected to impact all levels and disciplines, including technical, managerial, and administrative positions primarily at the Denver, Colo., and Sunnyvale, Calif. facilities. The cut in workforce announced are separate from the downsizing underway at the company's Michoud Operations as a result of the planned fly-out of the Space Shuttle program in 2010.
Lockheed Martin said it will also offer a voluntary layoff plan designed to minimize the number of layoffs necessary. The company will provide career transition support to those impacted by these workforce reductions.
The Obama administration's focus is on fighting insurgency, rather than wars, could affect several of Lockheed Martin's products as the U.S. government is one of its largest customers.
Lockheed Martin also took a hard hit last month, as the Senate voted to halt the production of the F-22 Raptor fighter jets. The twin-engine F-22 Raptor is a jet the Air Force expected to use for air-to-air combat missions.
The vote removed $1.75 billion set aside in a $680 billion defense policy bill to build seven more F-22 Raptors, adding to the 187 stealth technology fighters already built or being built.
Thousands of jobs will be at stake if the F-22 production line ends at its Marietta, Georgia plant in 2012 under current plan, Lockheed Martin noted.
For the most recent second quarter, Lockheed Martin reported a decline in second-quarter profit, as higher pension expense eroded its bottom line for the latest period, in the absence of a gain recorded in the previous year.
Second quarter sales of the Space Systems segment dipped to $2.056 billion from $2.202 billion in the prior year quarter. The company noted that declines in sales at Space Transportation and Satellites more than offset growth in Strategic & Defensive Missile Systems. The decrease in Space Transportation primarily was due to lower volume in commercial launch vehicle activities and on the Orion program in 2009.
Lockheed Martin shares are currently trading at $74.06, down 53 cents, on a volume of 1.41 million shares. The stock has been moving in a range of $57.41 - $120.30 for the past 52 weeks, with an average daily volume of about 1.47 million shares for the past three months.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.