General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the maker of the well-traveled Predator and Reaper military drones, plans to lay off 376 workers from its Poway and San Diego facilities.
The company filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) documentation with local and state employment officials this week detailing the job cuts, which become effective June 5. California law requires companies to give 60 days advanced notice of a pending workforce cut.
In a statement, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems confirmed "a reduction in force involving a small number of its employees. These reductions were made to balance resources with business requirements."
According to the WARN filings, 216 of the positions eliminated were at the company's Poway facilities. Another 160 laid-off workers were based at General Atomics' nearby San Diego factories in Carmel Mountain. The job cuts represent 3.5 percent of the company's local workforce, said a spokesperson.
The company said it expects the workforce reduction to be permanent but added that none of its facilities in the San Diego region are closing.
General Atomics has been a global leader in military unmanned aircraft for a generation with its surveillance MQ-1 Predator and attack MQ-9 Reaper drone platform, which is primarily used by the U.S. Air Force. Other military branches also use their own versions of the platform equipped with specific sensors and other gear aligned with their tasks.
The drones have been deployed in conflicts for 15 years in the Middle East and elsewhere across the globe. Last month, a Reaper drone was forced down over the Black Sea near Ukraine by Russian fighter jets. Just prior to that, General Atomics offered to provide two Reaper drones to Ukraine's armed forces for $1 pending authorization from the U.S. government.
The U.S. Air Force has been working to develop the next generation of military unmanned aircraft with enhanced capability. General Atomics is in the mix for some of these programs. It also has been working to sell its Reaper drones to other countries allied with the U.S.
According to the WARN notices, many of the jobs lost at General Atomic Aeronautical's Poway and Carmel Mountain facilities were centered on manufacturing, including composite technicians, machinists and quality control personnel.
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This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
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