CALIFORNIA BUSINESS MINUTE
Northrop Moves HQ
01-11-10
Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.
El Segundo- based defense contractor, Northrop Grumman announced it is moving
its corporate headquarters to Washington DC.
The move comes on the heels of the transition of Wesley Bush as CEO replacing
longtime and retiring Dr. Ron Sugar who grew up in southern California and UCLA
graduate.
In his first public statement issued by Northrop Grumman, Bush said, "This is
an important move for the company, and it's one that we believe will improve
the effectiveness in serving the nation and our customers." "The proximity to
Washington enables us to be a more integrated part of the federal process."
While Northrop Grumman will move its headquarters, it will mean the move of only
300 people. Northrop Grumman has over has over 30,000 people located in California
working on aircraft such as the F-17 in El Segundo and robotic airplanes in Rancho
Bernardo and Palmdale and satellites in Redondo Beach.
Northrop Grumman joins a growing list of defense contractors that have moved their
headquarters inside the beltway such as Lockheed and General Dynamics. And for
California, it witnessed in 2009 the loss of headquarters of SAIC and CSC as well.
Many industry analysts believe these moves stem from the need of the defense contractors
to be closer to their customer - the federal government. The key issue is whether this is
trend that will impact the state with yet even others moving out.
I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.
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