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Fighter contract promises 1,000 new El Segundo jobs
Northrop-Grumman’s El Segundo facility will add 1,000 jobs over the next two years, thanks to a $200 billion government contract awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp. last week. The Pentagon selected Lockheed to build 3,000 Joint Strike Fighters – the country’s next wave of military aircraft. Northrop will be partnering with Lockheed on the project, handling development work out of El Segundo and ultimately building the plane’s center fuselage. Future plans may also include producing additional planes for U.S. allies. The procurement process could take up to 40 years and is by far the largest of its type in military history.
The Lockheed/Northrop team outlasted Boeing and Raytheon in a competition that began five years ago. Raytheon, also based in El Segundo, indicated that it would still maintain a small staff devoted to Joint Strike Fighter research.
DirecTV sale threatens 1,200 local jobs
General Motors Corp. is selling El Segundo-based Hughes Electronics Corporation and its satellite television division DirecTV to EchoStar Communications Corp. The $26 billion deal was announced Monday, a day after the Rupert Murdoch-led News Corp. pulled its offer from the table.
EchoStar may now become the country’s largest satellite television provider, adding DirecTV’s 10.3 million subscribers to its own 6.4 million. The company intends to keep the DirecTV name for branding purposes. The transaction, if approved by the FCC and justice department, could impact jobs at both Hughes and DirecTV’s El Segundo facilities. EchoStar is based in Littleton, Colo., and has not indicated if it will keep operations in the South Bay. DirecTV employs 1,200 people locally and recently signed a seven-year, $56 million lease for office space in El Segundo. Hughes employs an additional 200 people at its corporate office here. The transaction may take up to a year to close, GM officials said. ER