ITT Cannon to Lay Off 80 at Santa Ana Plant

SANTA ANA —  In a move to make itself more competitive in a softening defense electronics market, ITT Cannon said Monday that it will begin laying off about 80 of the 1,700 employees at its manufacturing plant here.

The layoffs will include both hourly and salaried workers and will be made on the basis of seniority, said Sandra Wood, public relations manager. All of the layoffs will come at ITT Cannon’s plant at 666 E. Dyer Road, she said.

“The reduction reflects a need to be more cost-competitive in major markets, including defense electronics,” Wood said.

She said the layoffs will be completed within the week.

The work force reduction is not connected with the discontinuation of a particular product or contract, she said, but rather with the overall softness in the defense industry.

The plant makes electromechanical components, such as connector assemblies, for defense companies as well as transportation, energy, telecommunications and computer companies. Wood declined to disclose revenue or net income figures for the unit.

ITT Cannon’s Electromechanical Components Group, a unit of New York-based ITT Corp., is headquartered in Santa Ana and has 7,000 employees worldwide. The group has other plants in Phoenix, England, Canada, West Germany, Japan and Italy.

Besides the 1,700 workers at the Dyer Road plant, ITT Cannon’s work force in Orange County includes 250 people at the group headquarters and the ITT Cannon Components division, both at 1851 E. Deere St. in Santa Ana.