Boeing to cut SoCal satellite jobs

Boeing to cut SoCal satellite jobs Less than a week after losing a major defense satellite contract, aerospace giant Boeing Co. confirmed Wednesday that it would cut 750 employees from its space systems arm, with most loses to occur at two Southern California facilities.
   The Chicago-based firm cited a downturn in the satellite sector as a reason for the planned workforce cuts to its Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems, which operates main facilities in El Segundo and Seal Beach. The cuts, described by Boeing as focused 'primarily in the area of engineering,' would reduce the space division workforce by about 10.5 percent, from 7,200 workers to about 6,450 by the end of the year. About 5,500 of the division's total employees work at the El Segundo facility south of Los Angeles International Airport.
   Boeing officials said that about 100 employees would receive 60-day layoff notices this week with an additional 650 set to be notified by the end of June.
   The cuts follow a week after Boeing lost a $1.4 billion Air Force satellite contract to rival Lockheed Martine Corp.