Hanscom Air Force Base Faces Job Cuts

Updated at 4:00 PM, February 21st, 2012

BOSTON — Civilian workers at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford are bracing for cuts in defense spending that could cost hundreds of jobs.

In the Massachusetts economy, Hanscom flies under the radar, so to speak. That’s because the base has no planes and relatively few uniformed personnel.

But thousands of high-paid civilians work for firms doing contract research there. Now they may be under the knife.

But, “it may be much less drastic than might appear,” said Charlie Benway, a Bedford business leader who says the budget discussions are far from over. He says firms around Hanscom do cutting-edge R&D on which the military increasingly depends.

Even so, the looming cuts underscore how big of an industry defense is in Massachusetts.

Meanwhile, the base may have to cut more than 300 government employees because of a change in organizational structure.