Malibu’s HRL Labs cuts 376 jobs after losing government work

Malibu-based HRL Laboratories LLC, which once employed a U.S.-Chinese engineer sentenced to 46 months in prison for stealing trade secrets related to sensitive military technology, is laying off a third of its 1,130-employee workforce.

Employees were notified Feb. 3 that 376 employees would be laid off permanently on April 3 due to the “anticipated termination of a government program,” according to a letter filed with the state’s Employment Development Department by Genny Findlay, chief of HRL’s human resources office.