Aerospace Corp. in El Segundo laid off more than 300 engineers and other workers this week to cope with budget cuts from its biggest customer, the United States Air Force.

The nonprofit, federally funded research and development center notified most of the workers Thursday. About two thirds of the 306 laid-off employees are engineers and technical workers, with the rest support staff, said Aerospace spokeswoman Sabrina Steele.

Steele said she did not know how many pink slips were handed out at the company’s El Segundo headquarters. Aerospace has more than a dozen locations and 4,000 employees nationwide.

Aerospace advises the Air Force on rocket and satellite programs, many of which are administered by officers at the Los Angeles Air Force Base, located just across El Segundo Boulevard from Aerospace’s main campus.

Steele said the layoffs stem from Air Force budget cuts this year and anticipated cuts next year.