ATLANTA, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Northrop Grumman Corp, which is considering a sale or spin-off of its shipbuilding operations, said on Friday it has cut about 380 salaried jobs at its Newport News, Virginia, ship facility. The defense contractor said the job reductions were needed to control costs and overhead. It also cited the completion of major work segments on existing shipbuilding contracts. Northrop said more than 100 of the about 380 salaried workers affected by the job reduction had been offered hourly trade positions such as welders and electricians. It added the reduction was the first job-cut action the Newport News facility has had in over a decade. The Pentagon's No. 3 supplier by sales said in July it was exploring a spin-off or sale of its entire shipbuilding business. At that time, it announced plans to close a Louisiana shipyard in 2013 to cut excess capacity and consolidate its U.S. Gulf Coast shipmaking operations in Mississippi. Northrop Grumman, which also makes unmanned spy planes and provides technical services, has about 120,000 workers. (Reporting by Karen Jacobs, editing by Gerald E. McCormick) Keywords: NORTHROPGRUMMAN/ (karen.jacobs@thomsonreuters.com; +1 404 493 3656; Reuters Messaging: karen.jacobs.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved.
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