Technology Slice Blog

Lockheed Will Close Eagan Plant - Lockheed Martin said Thursday it will close its Eagan facility that employs about 1,000 by 2013. About 70 percent of the employees at the facility are engineers who work on communications systems used on military ships and aircraft, including P-3 surveillance planes. The company said the layoffs will be partially offset by the transfer of about 650 jobs from Eagan to Owego, N.Y., San Diego, Calif.; and Manassas, Va. A company spokeswoman said Eagan employees will know by the end of the year whether their positions are being transferred or eliminated. The closing, which will be phased in starting next year, will eliminate Lockheed's only corporate presence in the Twin Cities. The spokeswoman said the company plans to try to sell the 623,000-square-foot facility and its 50-acre site. The closing is a blow to Eagan, where Northwest Airlines also closed its former headquarters after it was acquired by Delta. Those offices are still vacant. The Ea...