By Sarah Tolkoff
Federal regulators have given the OK for Boeing Co. to move its satellite launch operations from Huntington Beach to Colorado as part of a venture with Lockheed Martin Corp.
The move could bring the shift of about 950 jobs from Huntington Beach to Denver.
The Federal Trade Commission signed off on the combination of Boeing’s satellite launch operation with that of Lockheed Martin.
The two companies are forming Denver-based United Launch Alliance to run the combined operation.
The venture is expected to employ about 3,800 people at the Denver hub and other sites.
Boeing plans to recruit engineers and others from Huntington Beach, home of the company’s Delta rocket program, to work in Colorado.
The transition is set to take about two years, a spokeswoman said. All of the Delta program’s 950 workers in Huntington Beach are set to get relocation offers, she said.
The company hasn’t finalized how many jobs are set to move from Huntington Beach, spokesman Dan Beck said.
United Launch was first announced in spring 2005 to combine production, engineering, testing and launch operations of Boeing’s Delta rockets and Lockheed Martin’s Atlas rockets.
The government uses both rockets to launch military, spy, weather and space observation satellites.
With federal approval, United Launch is expected to be finalized “in the next month or two,” Beck said.
There was speculation about whether regulators would sign off on the venture. The FTC’s approval requires the venture comply with an order assuring United Launch won’t hinder competition.
