Lockheed departure sends tremors through Burbank as local officials determine impact.Lockheed departure sends tremors through Burbank as local officials determine impact The lunchtime turnout at Conrad's Bar and Grill, just across from Lockheed Corp.'s Burbank facility, now is sparse. And the paucity pau·ci·ty n. 1. Smallness of number; fewness. 2. Scarcity; dearth: a paucity of natural resources. of diners Diners can mean:
Company officials decided last spring to transfer all aircraft production to Marietta, Ga. after being in Burbank for 60 years. As a result, last year's labor force of 13,500 will be reduced to 6,500 by the end of 1990 and will eventually dip to 2,000, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. company spokesman James Ragsdale. Trnsferred to Georgia, the new headquarters of Lockheed's aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau systems divisions, will be 1,000 jobs. An unspecified number of jobs are being transferred to the Palmdale plant, where advanced weapons will be built. Lockhead is leaving just a half-dozen buildings that house the administrative offices of the advanced division and 320 acres of land, which it is selling. After the initial shock wore off, Burbank leaders began assessing the long-term negative effects of the move on their city. The first priority for the city is helping the 800 to 900 unemployed workers who are Burbank residents with restraining and job counseling. Employees are receiving help from the Lockheed Corp., the state Employment Development Department and the federally-sponsored Verdugo Private Industry Council to find new jobs. But many of these employees were accustomed to high-paying jobs and are finding it difficult to match those salaries in the present job market. Braxton Berkley, a former Lockheed employee who was on the International Association of machinists Committee to Save Jobs, said several Lockheed employees found lower-paying jobs at Continental Airlines. Some of the retiring workers are more fortunate because they received a handsome compensation package, said Joe Terranova, an associate at Thomas Realty realty n. a short form of "real estate." (See: real estate) REALTY. An abstract of real, as distinguished from personalty. Realty relates to lands and tenements, rents or other hereditaments. Vide Real Property. in Burbank. Terranova said he has not heard of any unemployed workers who were forced to sell their homes. According to Mayor Thomas E.Flavin flavin: see coenzyme. flavin Any of a class of organic compounds, pale yellow biological pigments that fluoresce green. They occur in compounds essential to life as coenzymes in metabolism. , the Lockheed move in the short term will "result in some decreased revenues for the city of Burbank, particularly as it relates to sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. , not only from the direct employees that are going to be lost, but also on the small business vendors who have developed a business around Lockheed." That business with Lockheed is not small. Flavin said that the company pumped $160 million a year into Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, for goods and services In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility (unless the "good" is a "bad"). It is often used when referring to a Goods and Services Tax. . But in the long term, the Lockheed loss could be a boom for the city because the city may be able to convert the company's 320-acre property into commercial and retail projects. Flavin said a contributing factor in Lockheed's departure was the high cost of complying with California state environmental laws and Southern California Air Quality Management District rules. He said several U.S. states A U.S. state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States, although four states use the official title "commonwealth". The separate state governments and the federal government share sovereignty, in that an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and have set up offices in California to lure manufacturers to relocate to their states. However, Lawrence M. Harris, an aerospace industry analyst at Bateman, Eichler, Hill richards brokerage, said that company's move was based on simple economic considerations to reduced overhead. It had completed work on several projects and needed to save money by cutting expenses. Lockheed chose to close the Burbank plant, explained Harris, because it is the oldest plant and it would be too cost prohibitive to renovate or replace all the buildings. |
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