Rockwell Corp. unscathed by defense cuts; chairman predicts 12% growth in earnings.Rockwell Corp. unscathed by defense cuts; chairman predicts 12% growth in earnings Job losses at major 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, defense contractors have been greater than expected and may continue for some time, the chairman of Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. Corp. said last week during a meeting with industry analysts July 31 at the Biltmore hotel Biltmore Hotel is the name of a hotel chain created by hotel magnate John McEntee Bowman. The name evokes the Vanderbilt family's Biltmore Estate, whose buildings and gardens within are privately owned historical landmarks and tourist attractions in Asheville, North in downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or . Though he would not discuss specifics of his company's defense business, Donald Beall said Rockwell is well positioned to withstand future losses in the defense industry because of the $12 billion (1989 sales) aerospace giant's diverse product line. In comments made to security analysts, Beall said he was optimistic that Congress and the Bush administration will continue to increase spending for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), , a major Rockwell client. In 1986, 10 percent of the company's sales were to NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. , compared to 16 percent last year, or about $1.92 billion. "There is no question that questions have been raised lately about space because of the problems with the space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. , the mirrors on the Hubble (Space Telescope) and development of a space station . . . ," Beall said. "But I am confident that the American people An American people may be:
Rockwell stock closed unchanged at $26.375 on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. on July 31, up from a 52-week low of $19.375. Its 52-week high was $28.375 Rockwell, with corporate headquarters in El Segundo and more than 37,000 employees in the Los Angeles region, has not cut its workforce because of declining defense spending. Other Los Angeles-area defense contractors like Lockheed, Northrop and Douglas Aircraft have cut thousands from their payrolls in recent months. "I thought we would be able to absorb what has been happening in the defense spending . . . but the national economy is weaker, the numbers are down," he said. "The cutbacks have been worse than I expected but I think the rest of the Southern California economy is strong enough that there will not be mass dislocation." Rockwell has sharply reduced its defense work from 50 percent of its business in 1986 to 28 percent last year, Beall said. Beall told the analysts that the company is projecting a 12 percent increase in earnings over the next five years and will concentrate on producing automotive parts, commercial electronics, graphics equipment and printing presses, as well as sales to NASA and overseas space agencies and companies. Beall said no major relocations of Los Angeles-area facilities are planned by Rockwell. Earlier this year, the company said it would be moving its administrative offices out of El Segundo to Orange County's Seal Beach in January 1992. PHOTO : Beall: Rockwell's diverse products line has allowed it to weather defense cuts without PHOTO : layoffs |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion