Bad News for Boeing
A drop-off in orders from Asia will cause severe job cuts at Boeing Co., which said it plans to eliminate up to an additional 25,000 jobs on top of the 28,000 it previously announced.
Officials with Seattle-based Boeing, the largest private-sector employer in L.A. County, said the cuts will fall heaviest at and near the company’s Puget Sound headquarters. But many L.A.-based subcontractors also are likely to be affected, especially Northrop Grumman Corp., which makes the fuselage for Boeing’s 747 in Hawthorne.
In addition, the job cuts put the future of the former McDonnell-Douglas plant in Long Beach in doubt. Boeing is considering a plan to open an assembly line for specialized 737s at the plant, but if things continue to slow, the facility no longer may be needed. Boeing officials say they plan to announce a final decision on the Long Beach plant in early 1999.
More Aerospace Cuts
As the B-2 stealth bomber program winds down, Northrop Grumman will cut its workforce in Palmdale by about 700 employees.
Northrop is actually eliminating between 1,000 and 2,000 of the approximately 2,700 workers at its Palmdale facility, but it is transferring 400 to 500 workers from a soon-to-close plant in Pico Rivera. About 650 of the jobs to be cut are aircraft mechanic positions.
Production of the B-2 ended last year, but workers in Palmdale are modifying earlier aircraft with the latest technology. Those upgrades are scheduled to end in mid-2000.
Silver Sacrificed
The disastrous debut of “Babe: Pig in the City” over the Thanksgiving weekend may have been the last nail in the coffin for Casey Silver, who was fired last week as head of Universal Studios Inc.’s motion picture division.
Silver, whose job has been in jeopardy for some time because of the disappointing results of the films he has green-lighted over the past three years, will not be replaced as chairman of Universal Pictures. His responsibilities will be taken over by Universal Studios President Ron Meyer.
The “Babe” sequel, which cost close to $100 million to make and millions more to market, grossed only $8.2 million during its debut weekend. That comes on the heels of the failure of Universal’s “Meet Joe Black.” Universal ranks ninth in box-office market share this year among the studios.
One More Getty Departure
Another top official with the J. Paul Getty Trust has resigned, the third departure since former Cal State University Chancellor Barry Munitz became president of the Getty in January.
Miguel Angel Corzo gave no public explanation for his decision to quit as director of the Getty Conservation Institute, which preserves works of great historic or cultural significance around the world. His departure comes on the heels of the resignations of Eleanor E. Fink, director of the Getty’s now-defunct Information Institute, and Leilani Lattin Duke, former director of the Getty’s Education Institute.
Munitz has engineered an internal review of the Getty and has been consolidating divisions to save money. In a statement, Munitz said there is no intention to shutter the Conservation Institute and that a search for Corzo’s replacement would begin immediately.
Secession Success
Supporters of San Fernando Valley secession met their goal of gathering 200,000 signatures by Nov. 27 on a petition to force a study of cityhood.
Valley VOTE, the group leading the petition drive, actually needs only 135,000 signatures to force a study on the impacts of an independent Valley, but hoped to get the extra 65,000 to make up for the inevitable group of non-valid signatures.
The study is necessary before the county can place the issue before voters. That may happen as early as 2000.
MTA Bus Plan Gets the Nod
A panel of the California Transportation Committee has voted to allow the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to use $90 million in state funds to buy new buses, instead of using the money for subway extensions.
The CTC’s public transit committee approved MTA chief Julian Burke’s plan to use the money previously dedicated to subway lines to the Eastside and Mid-City to help buy 2,095 buses over the next six years.
The committee also rededicated $134 million in state funds to help complete the subway to North Hollywood, and began the process of shifting $257.9 million from the MTA to a new agency planning to build a light rail line from downtown L.A. to Pasadena. Those funds will not be transferred, though, until the Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority submits a complete plan for the line to the committee in March.
Baja Fresh Chain Sold
A controlling interest in Fresh Enterprises Inc., parent of the Baja Fresh restaurant chain, has been sold to a group of investors.
Westlake Village-based Fresh Enterprises owns 48 Baja Fresh outlets around the country, most of them in Southern California. Founder Jim Magglos sold control of the company to a consortium of buyers led by Pete Siracusa, who becomes its chairman, and Greg Dollarhyde, Fresh Enterprises’ new president and chief executive.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Officials said the new owners, who are backed by Connecticut-based investment bank Catterton Partners, plan to speed up expansion of the Baja Fresh chain, particularly in Northern California.
Sempra Sponsors Staples
Sempra Energy Corp. has signed on as a corporate sponsor of the Staples Arena, agreeing to pay more than $20 million over 10 years for a variety of marketing opportunities at the downtown venue.
San Diego-based Sempra, parent of Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric, joins eight other corporate sponsors of the arena. Its name will be printed in advertisements for the Los Angeles Kings, and it will have signage rights inside the arena and other promotional opportunities.
Sempra subsidiaries will also be providing energy for the arena, which is scheduled to open next fall.
K-Tel in Court
A class-action shareholders’ lawsuit has been filed against K-Tel International Inc.
The plaintiffs, a class consisting of everyone who bought K-Tel stock between Oct. 30 and Nov. 17, claim K-Tel officials were aware at the end of October that the company had failed to meet minimum requirements to be listed on the Nasdaq, but didn’t disclose that information until they filed quarterly papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 17.
Compiled by Dan Turner
