Aerojet-General, the defense segment of GenCorp Inc., andP&W had planned to form a new rocket propulsion company innorthwestern Palm Beach County, about 80 miles north of DowntownMiami. P&W designs and builds rocket engines at the site. Thecompany has 800 rocket engineers and 350 technicians, down from itspeak work force of 8,300 in 1989.

In California, Aerojet has been spending $20 million annually toclean up rocket chemical dumping from past decades. The firm has a$330 million contingency fund for the cleanup. Indecision on howmuch Pratt & Whitney would contribute to future cleanup budgetskilled the deal to form a new firm, sources tell GlobeSt.com.

P&W plans to relocate its military jet engine operations inFlorida to its East Hartford, CT headquarters site by the first ofthe year. P&W would have qualified for $5 million in state taxcredits and county grants if the deal with Aerojet had blossomed.P&W can still qualify for a $1 million country grant if itkeeps 800 workers and opens up 200 new jobs over the next sixyears.