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Fewer Lockheed workers furloughed than expected

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin said Monday that it had furloughed 600 fewer workers announced last week, because of the Pentagon's decision late Friday to bring back most civilian employees amid the partial government shutdown.

Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Md. The defense contractor said the impact would be "minimal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey."
Lockheed Martin headquarters in Bethesda, Md. The defense contractor said the impact would be "minimal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey."Read more
    by David Sell, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Defense contractor Lockheed Martin said Monday that it had furloughed 600 fewer workers announced last week, because of the Pentagon's decision late Friday to bring back most civilian employees amid the partial government shutdown.

Lockheed Martin, based in Bethesda, Md., has about 4,000 employees in Moorestown and significant operations at two King of Prussia locations.

On Friday morning, the company said it would furlough 3,000 workers because of the government shutdown. Later that day, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said he was bringing back about 90 percent of the Pentagon's civilian defense force because Pentagon lawyers had determined that number could be deemed essential to maintaining the safety of the country.

A Lockheed spokeswoman said Monday that the impact of Lockheed's furlough would be "minimal in Pennsylvania and New Jersey."

"The Department of Defense's decision will not eliminate the impact of the government shutdown on the company's employees and the business," Lockheed said in a statement. "The company will still have approximately 2,400 employees unable to work, because the civil government facility where they perform their work is closed or we've received a stop-work order on their DOD or civil government program. Of the 2,400 employees, approximately 2,100 work on civilian agency programs and 300 work on DOD programs. The affected employees are located in 27 states, with the majority based in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area."

Lockheed chief executive officer Marillyn A. Hewson said in last week's statement: "In an effort to minimize the impact on our employees, we are directing affected employees to use available vacation time so they can continue to receive their pay and benefits. We hope that Congress and the administration are able to resolve this situation as soon as possible."

BY THE NUMBERS

2,400

Total furloughed employees, mostly in Washington metro area.

2,100

Working on civilian agency programs.

300

Working on Defense Department programs.

27

Number of states

in which affected employees work.

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