After a previous announcement, defense contractor Lockheed Martin is cutting back its prior furlough employee number from 3,000 to 2,400 The Wall Street Journal reported.
"The department of defense's decision will not eliminate the impact of the government shutdown on the company's employees and the business," Lockheed told The Journal in a statement Monday.
Two-thousand, one hundred of the affected employees work on civilian agency programs, while 300 are in department of defense programs. Employees are also located in 27 states with the majority being in Washington D.C USA Today reported. The news comes after manufacturer United Technologies said it was reinstating the 4,000 employees it was going to have to lay off if the government shutdown was still in effect.
Lockheed said it would have to eliminate 3,000 workers on Friday. However, the Pentagon decided to reduce the number to 2,400 Saturday. This does not include staff in the government departments of information technology, auditing, and public affairs. Employees in these departments are still not able to return.
The remaining layoffs are part of the federal contractors' susceptibility in the midst of the meetings between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to bring the U.S. back into operation Bloomberg reported.
Because of the shutdown, Lockheed has not been able to have inspectors examine its F-35 joint strike fighter jets and Sikorsky's Black Hawk helicopters.
"Lockheed Martin will work closely with our customers to support the return of (defense contract management agency) inspectors, and other (department of defense) civilian customers, as they resume their important work on many of our programs," Lockheed spokesman Gordon Johndroe told Reuters. "We continue to urge Congress and the Administration to come to an agreement that funds the government as soon as possible."
Lockheed builds the F-35 fighter jets at its facilities in Fort Worth, and Grand Prairie, Texas where 14,000 people are employed CBS dallas-fort worth reported.
These locations will continue to operate normally.
