Albuquerque cuts ties with Orion Center aerospace company

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Albuquerque officials are cutting ties and moving on from plans for for what they had hoped would be a flagship addition to New Mexico’s burgeoning aerospace industry. The city announced Friday that the aerospace company behind the planned Orion Center never signed a lease agreement that was prepared months ago. Albuquerque chief operating officer Lawrence Rael says the company hasn’t followed through on its commitments. Plans at one point called for building a large campus that could have employed as many as 2,500 people. The parent company of Group Orion is TGI and faced financial and legal trouble. Company officials did not immediately return a message seeking comment.