Defense contractor Lockheed Martin has laid 114 workers at its site in suburban Syracuse and 25 in Owego, as part of the approximately 300 job cuts announced last month.
The 139 employees will be out of a job on August 15.
The reductions are in Lockheed's Mission Systems and Training division. The Salina and Owego plants work primarily in radar and sensor technology. The affected positions are mostly in engineering and program management.
The layoffs are a reaction to current business realities, including uncertain program funding, a delay in contract announcements, and an extremely competitive market, according to company spokesman Keith Little.
"Reducing our workforce is not a decision we make lightly," Little also said in the written statement.
In all, 367 positions in the company were cut. Lockheed also eliminated 150 positions at its plant in Moorestown, N.J., according to the Associated Press.
After the cuts, the Salina plant will employ about 1,600 and the Owego workforce will dip to below 2,700.
The Salina plant avoided a layoff scare earlier this year when Congress restored funding to finish the MEADS missile defense system in March. Much of the work is being done in Salina.
In documents filed with the U.S. SEC mid-year, the company talked about the potential impact of sequestration.
Sequestration, if left unmodified, could have significant negative impacts on our industry and company in future periods. There may be disruption of ongoing programs, impacts to our supply chain, contractual actions (including partial or complete terminations), potential facilities closures, and thousands of personnel reductions across the industry that will severely impact advanced manufacturing operations and engineering expertise, and accelerate the loss of skills and knowledge. We expect that sequestration, or other future budgetary cuts in lieu of the further implementation of sequestration, will have a material negative effect on our company.
