Rocketdyne’s ’91 Layoffs in Valley Reach 212

The Rocketdyne division of Rockwell International Corp. says it has laid off 212 workers at its facilities in Canoga Park and elsewhere in the San Fernando Valley since Jan. 1, partly because of reduced funding for some of its projects.

The latest layoffs occurred Friday, involving 17 hourly workers and five salaried personnel, said spokeswoman Diana Croon White. The company has been issuing pink slips on the last Friday of each month recently, and the biggest single cutback came March 29, when 120 employees were dismissed.

Rocketdyne’s overall work force is now 8,160, so the layoffs represent about 3% of its total employment. Croon White declined to identify which Rocketdyne programs have been hit by lower funding, but said the layoffs affected employees working throughout the company.

Rocketdyne makes the engines and other power systems for a variety of projects, including the space shuttle, the Atlas rocket, and the proposed Strategic Defense Initiative and space station Freedom programs.