Hughes layoffs look not to be the last for industry; industry experts say another 60,000 jobs could be lost.

Hughes Aircraft Co.'s announcement last week that it will eliminate another 4,400 jobs in Southern California is not expected to be the last of the already devastating industry losses in the area, according to industry and economic experts.

They said another 60,000 aerospace/defense industry jobs could be lost in the state before the downsizing is completed. A good chunk of those additional job losses -- at least a third -- could occur in the greater Los Angeles area, they said.

Including the latest layoffs at Hughes, Southland aerospace/defense employment has now dropped to about 180,000 from a high of about 300,000 in the mid-to late-1980s.

Experts said they expect statewide aerospace/defense employment to drop from a high of close to 400,000 to less than 140,000 by the end of 1996.

The cuts have come as a result of a defense/aerospace industry downsizing brought on by a declining Department of Defense budget. The Pentagon cuts began with the break-up of the Eastern bloc and the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

All the major aerospace/defense companies in Los Angeles County -- including such big companies as Lockheed Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., Douglas Aircraft Co. and Litton Industries Inc. -- have reduced their work forces in recent years.

Last week's announcement by Hughes, which is also considered a major defense/aerospace contractor, was not the first made by the Los Angeles-based company.

In the mid-1980s, Hughes had worldwide employment of about 82,000. But that number has dwindled to about 5 1,000, excluding the latest round of layoffs. In California, Hughes employs about 34,000, most of whom work in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

In last week's announcement. the company said it will cut 4,400 jobs at its facilities in El Segundo and Fullerton over the next 16 months. Currently, about 6,800 people work at the company's Fullerton facility and another 7,800 in El Segundo.

Both facilities are involved in the production of radar systems, air-defense systems and air traffic control equipment.

Eventually, Hughes plans to phase out all its operations in Fullerton, with remaining employees being transferred to other company facilities.

Overall, the layoffs represent about 9 percent of Hughes' current companywide work force.

Exactly how many jobs will be eliminated at each of the two facilities will be determined at a later date, the company said.

C. Michael Armstrong, chairman of Hughes' parent company, said, "Today, the Department of Defense and our foreign customers are even more cost-driven, and Hughes must change to meet those new priorities. We must continue to maintain a competitive edge if we are to grow a business base that will help us ensure a viable company and thriving work force into the future."

Hughes, based in the Westchester section of Los Angeles, is a military electronics and commercial satellite company and a unit of GM Hughes Electronics Inc.

In 1993 GM Hughes Electronics, which is owned by General Motors Corp., had sales of $13.5 billion.