Lockheed Martin Corp. disclosed that its looking to let go of up to 1,000 workers from its aeronautics division. This is part of their strategy to stay competitive and keep the rest of the members aligned with orders.

Moreover, the company is proposing a voluntary program to its mid-level employees. Such program is available in seven locations, such as Edwards Air Force Base and Palmdale, California; Marietta, Ga.; Fort Worth, Texas; Clarksburg, W.Va.; Meridian, Miss.; and Patuxent River, Md.

LA Times reported that the company, through its company spokesman Ken Ross, revealed that the "layoff follows an analysis of the division's competitiveness and is 'not related to a specific program.'"

WSBRadio further released a statement from Ross sent through email. It said: "Over the last year we've conducted a thorough analysis of (the aeronautics division) with an emphasis on designing and developing a workforce that positions us to be competitive in the future marketplace, secure additional business, and keep our resources and infrastructure appropriately aligned with demands."

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, which is based in Fort Worth, is responsible for making fighter jets such as the F-35 and the F-22.

The same LA Times report stated that it was just only last month when a federal agency rejected a protest by Lockheed Martin and Boeing Co. in favour of Air Force's decision to award a new bomber contract to Northrop Grumman Corp.

However, according to the Government Accountability Office said at the time that "the Air Force's review of bids was reasonable and that it saw no reason to reject the deal."

The GAO said the contracts had two parts: an engineering phase and an option to build the first 21 bombers. The former has an estimated cost of $21.4 billion in 2010 dollars.

The parent company, based in Bethesda, Md., employs more or less 126,000 workers globally.

Of this global employees, about 9,000 salaried employees from its aeronautics division, which includes 1,800 from the Marietta plant, are eligible for the buy-outs. The buy-outs also include up to 26 weeks of severance pay, depending on the number of years the employees have provided services for the company.

"We're hoping that 1,000 will accept," Lockheed Martin spokesman said.