The Loss of all Our Jobs at Litton

Shortly before the demise of our circuit board factory I was driving into work one morning and this vison came to me, so I drew it on my computer. It signaled to me that the end was near.

In 2000 things were going well. The company went as far as having a new building planned on the premisis and even some earth moving for foundations. Then the infamous "Dot.com" bubble broke and contracts were cancelled dramatically. So many small companies that we made circuit boards for went broke. That was the first straw heading toward the last straw that broke the camel's back.

I think about the old days at Litton and I am still in contact with many people from there that I enjoy hearing from. One thing that is perplexing is that I have dreams about it. The dreams usually center around me being there and the factory has all changed and I can't find the time clock, so I wonder if I am going to get paid for my work? Those of us there for the demise of Litton will remember the last 7 years of wondering every day if we would be laid-off or just show up for work and find the doors closed and locked. I had that every day I went there in those years. Oddly enough when the hatchet fell, it was a relief for me because I didn't have to worry about it anymore. That was a dark day for so many people and lots of tears were shed. I knew people there that had graduated high school at one end of Kearney street and went to the other end to Litton and 35-40 years later that was the only job they ever had until then. Many of us have died from cancer at a young age, as is I found later with other circuit board manufacturers. There is an irony there, a person has to work to live and yet working there is what ends up killing them. Long about 2003 Northrop/Grumman acquired Litton industries, mainly for the Litton shipbuilding portion of the company. The circuit board factory where we worked was somewhat like a boil on the back of their neck. Northrop put us up for sale, but there were no buyers, so we were told. I remember when we got a contract to make huge backpanels for the NSA and the then head man said that we now have a lifetime job with that contract. There was a sigh of relief until the day the boys from Chattsworth California landed their private jet, walked in for an unexpected meeting, said the doors were closing in 60 days and then walked out the door leaving some poor woman to explain what was going to happen.