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BAE Systems to lay off 300 workers
BAE Systems said Monday it will lay off 300 workers at facilities across the United States, two-thirds of which will occur in New Hampshire.
The defense contractor said the layoffs were necessary due to the budget cuts the Pentagon is facing as it plans to reduce $487 billion from its budgets over the next decade.
The layoffs were not made, however, over the prospect of additional across-the-board cuts through sequestration that could hit the Pentagon in March.
“These reductions are an unfortunate but necessary response to the reductions in our nation’s defense budget,” BAE spokeswoman Kristin Gossell said in an email. “They are not a response to the potential impacts of sequestration.”
BAE said that the 300 layoffs would be spread out among its 11,000-employee workforce, hitting facilities in New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Texas. Of the 300 positions being shed, 200 will be from the company’s Southern New Hampshire facilities.
The defense firm said affected employees would be notified by March 4.
BAE’s London-based parent company attempted to merge last year with EADS, parent of Europe’s Airbus, which would have made the combined company the largest defense-aerospace firm in the world. The merger ultimately fell through, however, after European governments with stakes in the companies could not agree to terms in the joint venture.
