Rocketdyne Reduces Number of Jobs Cut

Nearly one year after Rocketdyne disclosed plans to cut as many as 990 jobs, company officials said more than half of those positions have been spared, at least temporarily.

In a letter to employees in October, then-Rocketdyne President Bob Paster said plans were to trim employment by 10% to 15%, or as many as 990 jobs, within a year. But since then, the company has cut just 450 jobs, spokesman Paul Sewell said.

Workers were retained partly to help the aerospace company recover from damage to its sprawling Canoga Park complex caused by the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, Sewell said. Other jobs have been spared because of an improved outlook for the space station program. Rocketdyne, a unit of Rockwell International based in Seal Beach, has been hired to supply the electrical power systems for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration project.

But Sewell did not rule out future cutbacks.

“We’re not saying that the days of layoffs are over,” Sewell said. “There probably will be layoffs, but we’re not in a position to know when or where or how many.”

In recent weeks, Rocketdyne has cut about 35 jobs in various departments, Sewell said.