Defense contractor Northrop Grumman announced Thursday the impending closure of its Maintenance and Modification Center in Hagerstown, Maryland. Workers at the Center are currently finishing work on a number of the Navy’s P-3 patrol aircraft. 53 employees were given layoff notices this week, according to a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman.
Northrop Grumman blamed an overall decrease in workload, a delayed Navy contract, and the expiring lease on its plant site for the closure: “There just was not a sound business case for maintaining the facility,” said Northrop Grumman Technical Services Hagerstown site director David Tracy.