Lockheed Martin Systems Integration announced Tuesday that approximately 750 job cuts at its Owego facility are planned for mid-July, a move that stems largely from the termination of the VH-71 presidential helicopter program. The cuts will be made mostly on a volunteer basis - those who agree to leave will be given 90 days of pay and benefits, and a severance package if they are eventually cut. Officials at the company say the layoffs are to come from the entire business, not just the VH-71 program, and that final decisions about numbers and individuals will not be made until July, after employees have had a chance to think it over and volunteer, or not. Representative Maurice Hinchey, who is working to save the VH-71 program, has called Lockheed's cuts "premature" and says that they are undermining his cause.
See "Lockheed may cut more than 750 jobs at Owego facility", My-Ly Nguyen, The Ithaca Journal, June 16, 2009