Lockheed to Lay Off 200 Workers from Information Systems Unit

FacebookXPinterestEmailEmailEmailShare

Lockheed Martin Corp., the world's largest defense contractor, plans to lay off about 200 employees from its information systems and global solutions unit, a spokesman said.

The Bethesda, Maryland-based company recently informed the workers they would be let go.

"In order to remain competitive, all of our business areas including IS&GS, continuously adjust their staffing levels to match current customer needs and the changing business environment," Dan Nelson, a spokesman for the company, said in an email.

The move comes as the company plans to divest the unit to Leidos Holdings Inc. later this year, according to an article by James Bach, a reporter at the Washington Business Journal. Lockheed had previously announced it intended to lay off 500 workers in its government IT segment, he reported.

The unit specializes cybersecurity, biometrics, information-technology modernization, cloud computing and air traffic control, according to its website.

In 2015, the unit accounted for about $5.6 billion in revenue, or 12 percent of the company's $46 billion in overall sales, according to its annual report.

The divestiture was announced in January and the "transaction is anticipated to unlock approximately $5.0 billion in estimated enterprise value for our stockholders, including a $1.8 billion one-time special cash payment to us," the report states. "We intend to use the net proceeds of the transaction to repay debt, pay dividends or repurchase our stock."

As of 2015, Lockheed had 126,000 employees, according to the document.

Story Continues
DoDBuzz