Northrop Grumman Corp., one of the nations leading global security companies, has announced that it will be moving its corporate headquarters out of Los Angeles and into the Washington, D.C. area.

The move is expected to take place by 2011, but not all of its 300 staff will make the transition from their Los Angeles office.

Some of the employees will transfer to the new facility, while others will integrate into different positions at other facilities, and some will be laid off, according to Dan McClain, Vice President of Enterprise Communications for Northrop Grumman.

“As a global security company with a large customer base in the Washington, D.C. region, this move will enable us to better serve our nation and customers,” said Wes Bush, chief executive officer and president.

The new location puts the headquarters near its major government contractors, including the Pentagon, for which it develops an array of products such as components for the F/A-18 fighter jet

Another major project Northrop runs is an unmanned aircraft called the Global Hawk, which is built at their Palmdale facility.

“We felt that this was the right time to make that move,” said McClain.

While the move to the East Coast is a big one for the company, it has no plans for relocating its other California based facilities.

Northrop Grumman employs more than 120,000 individuals world-wide, with four major facilities in California employing more than 30,000 people.