PASCAGOULA, Miss. Oct. 13, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) is making final arrangements to provide on-site temporary housing for more than 1,000 returning employees at its shipyards in New Orleans and Pascagoula. Because the provision of temporary housing is a key factor in supporting the returning workforce after the impact of Hurricane Katrina, the company is also working directly with government agencies and their contractors, as well as non-profit agencies, to expedite the processes by which families in communities surrounding the shipyards get the temporary housing they need to resume some level of normalcy in their lives.
Northrop Grumman values all of its employees and has established offices to provide special assistance for returning Ship Systems sector employees, if needed. As the company continues its recovery efforts and expands production at its facilities in Mississippi and Louisiana, it is necessary to make a full assessment of the availability of its workforce. Northrop Grumman requests that employees who have not yet returned to work contact the company immediately in order to avoid loss of employment status and benefits eligibility.
Any employee who has not reported to his/her assigned work site should do so immediately, check in, and get information concerning work assignments. Individuals with personal hardships that are preventing their full-time return to work should report to the Labor Relations office at their respective work site to request a personal leave of absence. Employees who have previously reported to work and who have been granted a personal leave of absence should report to work at the end of their approved leave period.
Employees who have evacuated to out-of-town locations and are unable to travel to their assigned work site to check in must call one of the telephone numbers listed below to report their current status and availability for work, and as appropriate, to request consideration for a personal leave of absence:
-- For Pascagoula (Ingalls) operations, employees should call any of
the following numbers: (228) 935-4170; (228) 935-5508; (228) 935-
3054; (228) 935-4762; or (228) 935-5375.
-- For New Orleans (Avondale) operations, employees should call (504)
654-3100.
-- For Gulfport operations, employees should call (228) 935-7753.
To date, Northrop Grumman reports that 12,500 employees from its Ship Systems sector workforce of nearly 19,800 have returned to work full time since its Gulf Coast facilities were impacted by Hurricane Katrina. An additional 3,400 employees have made contact with the company and are on various forms of approved leave. Another 3,400 employees have made initial contact with the company but are not working and 500 are not yet accounted for. Production work has resumed on the 11 ships under construction at the facilities in New Orleans, Gulfport and Pascagoula.
Northrop Grumman Ship Systems includes primary operations in Pascagoula and Gulfport, Miss.; and in New Orleans and Tallulah, La., as well as in a network of fleet support offices in the U.S. and Japan. Ship Systems is one of the nation's leading full-service systems companies for the design, engineering, construction and life-cycle support of major surface ships for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and international navies.