PALMDALE PURSUES JSF WORK.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer PALMDALE - Trying to land more work on what is billed as the richest military aircraft project in history, city officials may offer $500,000 to Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) is an aerospace and defense conglomerate that is the result of the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company is the third largest defense contractor for the U.S. to do work at Air Force Plant 42. Palmdale City Council is scheduled to vote Wednesday on whether to offer $2,000 per job for the first 250 jobs if Northrop Grumman brings its share of the joint strike fighter program The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) became synonymous with the later F-35 Lightning II, however until 2001 the term was applied to the competition between the Boeing X-32 and Lockheed Martin X-35. to Plant 42. Palmdale and El Segundo El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and are the two locations Northrop Grumman is considering for the program. ``We are offering it to them to make it more attractive to do the work in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley ,'' said Mayor Jim Ledford. ``It certainly would be a great addition to get this work.'' Northrop Grumman is a partner with Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. on the team chosen by the Pentagon in October to produce the fighter for the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines and for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. If more than 3,000 aircraft are built as planned, the value of the contract is around $200 billion. Counting potential foreign sales and lifetime maintenance and modification work, the contract could be worth as much as $750 billion. Between this year and 2006, Northrop Grumman is expected to hire more than 150 employees for the program. As many as 800 workers are expected to be added between 2006 and 2012 as aircraft production builds up. Northrop Grumman is evaluating its options and will make a decision later this year, company spokesman Jim Hart said. ``The incentives, if they are approved, are certainly encouraging,'' Hart said. ``We would certainly consider them in making our decision.'' The City Council will decide on the incentive proposal at its Wednesday meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in Palmdale City Hall, 38300 Sierra Highway Sierra Highway is a road in Southern California, United States. It runs from Tunnel Station near the north limit of the City of Los Angeles, where it intersects with San Fernando Road and Foothill Boulevard, as well as Interstate 5, and continues north to Mojave, mostly paralleling . The proposal would be offered under the city's Business Attraction Incentive Program, created during the 1990s recession as an way to attract new businesses or encourage Antelope Valley businesses to expand. The $500,000 offer would be part of a package of current incentives: wage and equipment tax credits offered by the state, foreign trade zone benefits that reduce or eliminate U.S. Customs duties Tariffs or taxes payable on merchandise imported or exported from one country to another. Customs laws seek to equalize the charges imposed by other countries, furnish income for the federal government, and preserve the financial stability of domestic industries. on products being sold overseas, enterprise zone benefits providing state tax credits for employees hired from certain low-income areas or through certain job placement programs, and employee training assistance. In addition, the city will tout its affordability and quality of life compared to the Los Angeles basin The Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the peninsular and transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs (both in Los Angeles . ``It comes down to what is a good environment for your employees,'' Ledford said. ``We have the quality of life for the work force. And there might be housing assistance we could offer.'' |
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