Lockheed Martin aerospace division to cut 800 jobs

The company said the payroll deductions represent about 4.5 per cent of the overall workforce and are "aimed at improving its competitive posture."

The company will offer a voluntary layoff plan aimed at minimising layoffs at the division's facilities, primarily in Denver, Colorado, and Sunnyvale, California.

"The action we are taking, though difficult, is necessary to adapt to our current projected business base and to maintain an appropriate workforce to meet our customers' needs," Joanne Maguire, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space Systems said.

The company underscored that the job cuts announced were separate from a down sizing underway as a result of the planned phase-out of the Space Shuttle programme in 2010.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems designs and develops, tests, manufactures and operates advanced-technology systems for national security and military, civil government and commercial customers.

Parent company Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, is a global security company and major US defence contractor that employs about 146,000 people worldwide.