In a major hit to the local manufacturing scene, Santa Clarita’s fifth-largest private employer and its largest manufacturer is sending 300 jobs to the Midwest, per a news release the company sent Wednesday.
Woodward Inc., which designs and manufactures aerospace and industrial controls for a global market, is moving a major part of its operations to a plant in Illinois to “improve efficiency, output, and customer delivery for these critical aerospace controls.”
The company’s plan is to relocate its local servo-hydraulic control valves production line to its manufacturing facilities in Rockford, Illinois.
“As the servo line is transferred to Rockford over the next 12 to 18 months, it will affect about 300 out of approximately 730 jobs in Santa Clarita. The Woodward Santa Clarita facility will continue to deliver other aerospace controls,” according to the news release the company sent out at 1 a.m. Wednesday.
“While this is the right move for our company and our customers, we recognize it will have impacts on some of our valued team members and their families and we are striving to make the transition as smooth as possible for them,” Shawn McLevige, president of Woodward’s Aerospace segment, said in the statement. “Woodward is committed to engaging in good faith negotiations with the union representing bargained team members in Santa Clarita whose roles may be affected.”
Jennifer Regina, Woodward’s vice president of communications, did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
“The production line transfer is part of the company’s ongoing efforts to optimize its manufacturing footprint,” according to the company’s statement.
The statement indicated the move to its Rock Cut and Loves Park campuses is meant to “elevate the company’s capability to best serve its customers,” per the statement.
It’s a major blow to the city of Santa Clarita’s job-retention efforts, which consistently counts Woodward as one of its top employers. The most recent confirmed data from the state indicates the city gained 964 jobs in a year-over-year comparison.
Officials with the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corp., a public-private partnership funded by the city to attract and retain jobs, recently announced the formation of the Southern Pacific Aero-Defense Alliance, an alliance meant to “unite Southern California’s aero-defense ecosystem.” Aerospace and defense manufacturing has been one of the target areas for job growth for the organization.
The city and the EDC issued a joint statement Wednesday, which called the move a “partial operational shift, not a full exit,” in response to the news.
“Santa Clarita also remains a vital part of Southern California’s aerospace and defense economy. Our Valley is home to a deep and innovative manufacturing base, and the recent launch of the Southern Pacific Aero-Defense Alliance reflects the growing momentum and collaboration taking place across industry, education, and government to strengthen the region’s long-term competitiveness,” according to the statement. “SCVEDC is actively engaged with Woodward leadership and regional partners and is coordinating with workforce organizations to support continuity through this transition. Together, the city of Santa Clarita and the SCVEDC remain committed to supporting both business retention and workforce continuity while reinforcing Santa Clarita’s position as a premier location for aerospace and advanced manufacturing.”
Woodward has longtime ties to the area, as its facility previously operated as Hydraulic Research Textron at Rye Canyon Road since the 1970s, as a division of Textron, prior to a series of mergers and acquisitions.
In addition to being a part of the city’s philanthropic scene, its role in the region as a point of pride was highlighted in a visit by then-Congressman Mike Garcia, who toured the campus with media and Lockheed Martin to show off the F-35 Lightning II Program and a simulator.
