Utah defense firm L-3 lays off about 80 wor..

L-3 Communications • Company had major cuts in 2013.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

L-3 Communication Systems-Wests' Salt Lake City office announced layoffs of about 80 positions Thursday, adding to cuts of more than 400 positions in 2013.

Jennifer Barton, vice president of media relations for the company's New York headquarters said in a release that the reduction affects both hourly and salaried employees.

"The effects of the challenging defense budget environment require us to make this difficult decision in order to align our employee levels with business demand," she wrote. "We remain committed to the Salt Lake City community and to our business here, which is strategically important to L-3. All affected employees will receive severance packages and outplacement assistant."

The company develops a broad range of electronic systems which are used on military and commercial packages. It employs approximately 3,400 people in Salt Lake City and is one of Utah's largest private employers.

The company laid off 190 employees in April of 2013 and cut another 220 in September. A report during the last round of cutbacks said that at least 610 employees had been laid off or volunteered to leave the company last year.

wharton@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribtomwharton

Utah defense firm L-3 lays off about 80 workers