Aerojet to Bring 100 Jobs to Chatsworth

Consolidation of Aerojet Rocketdyne Inc. facilities will result in the transfer of about 100 jobs to the company’s Chatsworth location. The Sacramento-based aerospace and defense contractor announced Monday the second phase of its competitive improvement program that will move defense-related program management, engineering and related support jobs from a site in Sacramento to a new state-of-the-art production facility in Huntsville, Ala. Additionally, the company will close its Gainesville, Va. site and relocate jobs to Huntsville and a facility in Orange County, Va. Many of the remaining programs and about 100 positions will relocate from Sacramento to the Space division headquarters in Chatsworth at DeSoto Avenue and Nordhoff Street. Some employees working on Space-related programs will go to a site in Redmond, Wash. Chief Executive Eileen Drake said that Aerojet Rocketdyne will realize an annual savings of $230 million by the time the second phase is complete in 2021. “Given the dynamic nature of this industry, strategic business decisions such as these, while difficult, are critical to establishing a solid course for our future,” Drake said in a statement. The Chatsworth facility, which employs more than 1,000 workers, is where the company makes engines used on the Delta IV and Atlas V rockets that take military and intelligence satellites into space. The facility also works on missiles systems and thrusters for satellites. The Valley location is also where work is being done on engines for the Space Launch System, the new heavy-lift rocket being developed by NASA for future manned missions, perhaps to Mars.