Pa. deploys action team after Lockheed Martin announces plant closure

Pennsylvania officials are scrambling after news that Lockheed Martin will close a satellite manufacturing facility in Newtown, Bucks County.

The company unexpectedly announced Thursday that it plans to shutter the plant by 2015.

Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman Sara Goulet says her agency is waiting to hear what services will be needed by the plant’s 1,000 employees.

“At this point, we’ve reached out to find out just additional information on details of the potential layoffs — obviously to confirm the timing and and when we can do fact-finding with the company,” she said.

The department could assist workers with help in applying for unemployment benefits and potentially offer retraining.

The Governor’s Emergency Action Team has reached out to company officials in hopes they can be convinced to reverse the decision.

If not, Department of Community and Economic Development spokesman Steve Kratz said the department will work with local agencies to find a new employer to fill the Lockheed Martin campus.

Lockheed blamed reduced spending by the federal government for the closures in Pennsylvania and four other states.

About 200 jobs from Newtown will move to Colorado and several hundred from a closing operation in Arizona will be relocated to Valley Forge.