Lockheed Martin to pay $300 million more to suppliers hit by coronavirus

(Reuters) – U.S. weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp said on Friday it would pay an additional $300 million to its suppliers hurt by a sharp economic slowdown caused by the coronavirus crisis.

The company, which makes the F-35 fighter jets, has already injected $450 million in payments to suppliers.

Lockheed’s advances comes as the Pentagon has increased the amount of interim payments it makes to defense contractors in an effort to give them a financial boost amid the pandemic.

The company has hired over 3,400 new employees in the United States since the pandemic began, and said it remains on track with its plans to hire 12,000 new employees by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)