MARIETTA, Ga. – Aerospace firm Lockheed Martin is cutting 550 jobs at its metro Atlanta plant as production of its C-130 aircraft slows, officials said.
The move was announced Wednesday but is already under way, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.
Cuts at the Marietta plant were needed because production of the latest version of the plane, the C-130J, has plunged by one-third from 2011 to 2013, Lockheed spokesman Peter Simmons said.
The company will use retirements and attrition to account for some of the job cuts, with the rest accomplished through layoffs, Simmons said.
“It’s painful,” said Denise Rakestraw, who heads Local Lodge 709. The union represents thousands of Lockheed’s Marietta employees.