Northrop Grumman draws curtain on reseller unit

Northrop Grumman Corp. is closing down its computer reseller business today to strengthen its focus on the company's core capabilities and better align its offerings with its customers.

The computer reseller business sells technology equipment to government agencies. It comprises the company's enterprise Information Technology business unit in Greenbelt, Md., where about 300 of the unit's 365 workers are employed. Affected workers will be relocated to other business units, James O'Neill, corporate vice president and president of the company's information technology sector, said in a printed statement.

Northrop Grumman will continue to honor its business commitments to its customers, suppliers and vendor partners, O'Neill said.

Northrop Grumman announced its decision to get out of the computer reseller business Jan. 24. The company got into the reseller business in 2000 when it acquired Federal Data Corp.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, Northrop Grumman employs more than 125,000 workers and had 2005 revenue of $30.7 billion. The company is No. 2 on Washington Technology's 2005 Top 100 list of federal prime contractors.