Leidos says it hired 2,000 employees in most recent quarter

Leidos said it is “on track” to meet its headcount goals for the year and hired more than 2,000 employees in its most recent quarter.

During a call with analysts this week, Jim Reagan, Leidos' chief financial officer, said the company's “ability to ramp successfully on our new programs depends heavily on hiring the best available talent.”

He said that while 2,000 is a gross number, meaning it does not take attrition into account, the company still added more than 600 net new jobs in the quarter.

Roger Krone, Leidos' chief executive, said during the same call the company is looking to hire beyond just the Washington area.

He noted the company is doing software work in Morgantown, WV; Colorado Springs, CO; and San Diego, CA, among other locations.

“We still have some customers who want our team -- think of it within 50 miles of their facility -- and that puts some constraints on where we hire,” he said. “But we are seeing -- I won't call it a sea change -- but we are seeing more flexibility on behalf of customers for us to move the work to where we can hire people.”

Meanwhile, Leidos said sales in its defense solutions group during the quarter reached nearly $1.3 billion, up about 7% from the same period a year earlier. Krone said the company has seen a “notable acceleration of growth” in this unit.