SOUTHLAND

Bracing for Hughes Layoffs: Hughes Aircraft Co. is expected to unveil today the details of plans to consolidate its defense-electronics lines in El Segundo, Fullerton, Long Beach and perhaps other sites, and employees are bracing for job cuts that could total 3,400. Hughes said in June that the streamlining would center around its radar and warfare electronics groups at those locations, which are saddled with excess capacity due to the slide in Pentagon spending. Even Hughes’ 350-acre Fullerton plant, which employs 6,800, is considered a candidate for closure, because Hughes is using only about two-thirds of the available space there.