Northrop leaves L.A.

The aerospace giant is looking for a location somewhere in the Washington, D.C. area. Plans to move out of L.A. (Century City specifically) by next year. "As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, D.C. region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers," said CEO Wes Bush in a statement. It's worth noting that this is Bush's first day as CEO (he replaces Ron Sugar in the top spot). There had been rumblings for some time about such a move, especially since rivals Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics have set up their operations in the D.C. area. The move is more of a symbolic blow for L.A. than an economic one -- the headquarters office has only a few hundred people out of a total workforce of 120,000. From the press release:

Approximately 30,000 employees, a quarter of Northrop Grumman's worldwide employment, work in California. Its Aerospace Systems sector is headquartered in Redondo Beach, and each of the company's other four sectors have major facilities in the state.

Edited post