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Boeing Fuels Defense Cos.’ Hiring Drop

Fewer jobs at Boeing Co. drove a decline in local aerospace and defense workers in the past year, though other companies held steady, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

The top 25 local aerospace and defense companies saw a 1.3% decline, or nearly 350 jobs, to 25,927 local workers, according to this week’s Business Journal list.

Boeing, which dominates the list, drove the decline with a 7.3% drop in local jobs during the past year for a total of 9,691 workers.

The company’s losses barely put a dent in Boeing’s overall workforce here. But it was enough to drag down the list as Boeing accounts for about 40% of all aerospace and defense employment here.

Excluding Boeing, the 24 other companies saw employment rise 2.6% to 16,236 workers. Companywide, the companies posted a 2% gain to about 1.3 million jobs.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as strong demand in the commercial jet industry made for some nice hiring boosts.

Ten of the companies saw job gains. Six posted losses. Two were flat. Figures for seven companies are Business Journal estimates.

Boeing’s workers are spread among Anaheim, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Seal Beach and Cypress.

Movement of some missile production work to Huntsville, Ala., shifts in work within Southern California and retirements led to the decline in jobs, according to Boeing.

The company can see sizable shifts in local employment from year to year depending on projects it’s working on.

In May, Boeing said it was laying off workers at its Space and Intelligence Systems operations in Seal Beach and Huntington Beach as well as El Segundo after losing a government contract to make satellites.

The jobs lost were primarily in engineering. Less than 50 people in OC are expected to be affected by the cuts.

In August, the company said it planned to pack up its Anaheim-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense program and ship it to Alabama. About 30 jobs were set to move to the aerospace company’s Huntsville facility.

Boeing also lost several hundred jobs after shifting its United Launch Alliance, a venture with Lockheed Martin Corp., to Denver last year.

Contract losses and market conditions have forced the company to cut costs, according to the company’s top executive here.

“The stretching out of government contract awards, along with a continuing lighter demand in the commercial marketplace for large, high-power satellites, has created a surplus in the workforce,” said Craig Cooning, vice president and general manager of the Seal Beach-based Space and Intelligence Systems.

The company’s outlook remains strong with major contracts such as the one nabbed by Boeing’s Future Combat Systems in Huntington Beach, which is overhauling the Army’s communications system.

No. 9 Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. had the second largest employment drop on the list, cutting 100 jobs as orders for its body armor sold to the Pentagon are off their recent peak.

The company has been looking to apply its specially made ceramic armor to other products such as combat vehicles, as well as grow its business that provides material to the energy industry.

No. 2 Parker Hannifin Corp. in Irvine added 50 jobs, a 3% increase, for a total of 1,800 employees.

The operation is part of Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp.’s air and fuel division, which makes parts for fueling systems on jets.

Parker Hannifin was slated to provide parts for Northrop Grumman Corp.’s KC-45 fuel tanker plane for the Air Force. That contract is up in the air after the government canceled Northrop’s bid because of claims of inaccurate accounting during the selection process.

Los Angeles-based Northrop is competing with Boeing for the $35 billion government contract, which would decide the fate of thousands of jobs. Several local subcontractors could see work from the project.

In March, Parker Hannifin won a $400 million contract with Cessna Aircraft Co. to build flight controls for its new 10-person passenger jet, the Cessna Citation Columbus.

It also builds parts for European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.’s Airbus passenger jet, which it nabbed a $2 billion contract for earlier this year.

No. 3 Portland, Ore.-based Precision Castparts Corp. added 139 jobs for a total of 1,486 workers.

The 10.3% gain in workers pushed Precision up a spot this year, beating out Bellevue, Wash.-based Esterline Technol-ogies Corp., which moved down to No. 4. Esterline’s employment was flat with 1,414 workers in Brea, Buena Park and Rancho Santa Margarita.


Demand for Planes

Precision Castparts, which makes fasteners that keep planes together, has been growing with increased demand for planes.

Its Air Industries Corp. in Garden Grove added 88 jobs, while its Shur-Lok Co. unit in Irvine added 25 workers.

Precision Castparts was the biggest gainer on the list a year earlier, adding 500 jobs after buying Santa Ana-based Cherry Aerospace for $300 million from Troy, Mich.-based Acument Global Technologies Inc.

Cherry Aerospace added 26 jobs in the past year.

The company has struggled to hire qualified machinists, as younger generations haven’t stepped in to replenish an aging workforce.

No. 7 Alcoa Fastening Systems in Fullerton has reported similar hiring problems.

The company, owned by Pittsburgh-based Alcoa Inc., posted a 2.1% gain in local employment, bringing its workforce here to 1,100.

The biggest gainer was No. 15 Eaton Aerospace LLC, a division of Cleveland’s Eaton Corp., which moved up five spots on the list thanks to a 56% gain, or 140 jobs, for a total of 390 workers.

The company has been growing with Pentagon contracts.

A recent award to supply parts for 167 new Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey planes, which have tilting rotors to allow them to act as helicopters, is expected to bring the company $120 million in revenue during the next five years.

No. 19 Airborne Systems of North America Inc. also had a boost as it added 84 jobs to bring its total to 279 workers, a 43% gain.

The New Jersey-based maker of parachutes for the military has been flush with new orders, which include a new design for the Army as well as for NASA’s Orion program.

No. 6 Rockwell Collins Inc. moved up three spots with 1,185 workers. Its buy of Virginia’s Information Technology & Applications Corp., which has operations in Anaheim, accounted for 16 of the jobs.

No. 14 Meggitt PLC lost six jobs, bringing its total to 550, as business shifted between its two local businesses that employ 275 each.

The British company’s Endevco Corp. in San Juan Capistrano lost 16 jobs, while Meggitt Defense Systems Inc. in Irvine added 10.

No. 23 Synchronous Aerospace lost 19 jobs, bringing its total to 211. In August the company was bought by private equity firm Littlejohn & Co. of Connecticut.

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