With the end of the Space Shuttle program and continuing uncertainty about future prospects for space exploration, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Wednesday laid off 75 employees at the DeSoto Avenue facility in Chatsworth, and the Canoga Avenue plant in Canoga Park.
They are among 100 terminations announced. The layoffs bring remaining Valley employees to 1,100.
"The uncertain future of the space industry and current economic conditions have created an environment where we must take these steps to ensure we remain competitive," the company said.
Rocketdyne is owned by United Technologies Corp. although a sale to GenCorp for $550 million is pending.
In the 1960s, the Canoga Park plant built the Saturn V moon rocket engines. Work on the main engines for the Space Shuttle followed until the program ended in July 2011.
