In another gut punch to California’s tech workforce, L3Harris Technologies is playing corporate musical chairs with its employees, announcing a massive layoff that’ll send 149 workers packing from its Van Nuys facility.

The Corporate Shuffle

The defense contractor, known for its military tech wizardry, is consolidating faster than a startup’s pivot strategy. By the end of September 2025, engineers across electrical, mechanical, and software disciplines will find themselves unexpectedly job hunting.

Why the Mass Exodus?

L3Harris is calling this a “facility optimization” - corporate speak for “we’re trimming the fat”. Their CFO Kenneth Bedingfield is proudly touting their “LHX Next” cost-cutting initiative, which sounds more like a dystopian tech strategy than an actual business plan. The company claims work will transition to New Jersey, leaving California workers in the lurch.

The Bigger Picture

With around 47,000 employees at the start of 2025 and a market valuation hovering around $50 billion, L3Harris isn’t exactly struggling. Yet, they’re still wielding the layoff axe with corporate precision, proving once again that in tech, job security is about as stable as San Francisco’s housing market.