New Bedford’s Mayor Mitchell releases statement on closure of Lockheed Martin facility

A Lockheed Martin Corp. facility located in Marion, MA since 2004 has announced that their facility is closing permanently.

The defense contractor who was working on U.S. Navy programs did say that the majority of the employees would be offered a choice between remote work or relocation.

Officials from Lockheed Martin Corp. stated that the decision to consolidate some operations within their Rotary and Mission Systems business – a specialty of the Marion location – was made based on an effort to increase efficiency and value, as well as drive down cost for their clients.

The impact of the decision will a dramatic effect on Marion as the Lockheed Martin Corp. facility was a large aspect of Marion’s town master plan developed in 2017, however that impact will certainly be felt across the South Coast.

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Here is the official statement by New Bedford’s Mayor Jon Mitchell:

“The closure of Lockheed Martin’s facility is disappointing for Greater #NewBedford, especially the employees & families affected.

MassHire GreaterNB will support displaced workers, & despite this setback, we’ll continue to cultivate blue economy jobs here.”