Northrop Grumman cutting 1,000 jobs in Southern California's space sector

 Northrop Grumman, a defense contractor, announced plans to lay off up to 1,000 employees in Southern California's space sector. The affected employees work at facilities in Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Azusa. 

The company declines to explain the cause of the layoffs. Separately, it disclosed in a January financial filing that the U.S. government had terminated a classified space program, reducing its backlog by $2 billion.

Northrop Grumman issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notices to employees that might be laid off on Jan. 26. The news of the potential layoffs was first reported by Space News.

“We’re actively working to match impacted employees with existing job openings and opportunities across Northrop Grumman,” the company told Aviation Week on Feb. 27. “These efforts are ongoing, and a higher number of employees received WARN notices than may ultimately be impacted.”

The prime manufacturer’s Space Park facilities have about 7,500 employees.

Northrop Grumman’s planned layoffs come just a few weeks after NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in nearby Pasadena announced plans to cut nearly 600 jobs amid budget uncertainties and an ongoing review of NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission.

Southern California has the world’s largest cluster of space companies and government agencies. It also hosts large facilities for other prime aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, RTX and SpaceX. The region also has an ever-growing cadre of space startups. Still, absorbing nearly 1,600 workers in the span of a few months might be more than hiring companies and government agencies can digest.

The layoffs come after other startups also trimmed their number of staff last year amid slower-than-expected revenue growth, a more difficult environment for raising venture capital and higher interest rates. For instance, last year launch company Virgin Orbit of Long Beach went bankrupt and laid off its 750 employees. Astra, a rocket engine manufacturer based in Alameda, also laid off dozens of employees.