BETHESDA, md. — Lockheed Martin is eliminating about 500 jobs from its Information Systems & Global Solutions segment as the defense contractor adjusts to changing government priorities and tries to sharpen its competitiveness.

The aerospace and defense company employs about 112,000 people globally, so the cuts amount to less than 1 percent of its total workforce.

The Bethesda, Md., company says the reductions will include voluntary and involuntary layoffs and will be completed by mid-November.

Lockheed’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business has more than 21,000 employees across multiple locations in Colorado; the Washington, D.C., region; Pennsylvania and Texas.

In July, Lockheed filed federally mandated notices with the Colorado Department of Labor indicating the potential reductions of 270 jobs in Colorado Springs. The company cited a disputed $700 million U.S. Air Force contract that was expected to be awarded to Raytheon.

Last week, Raytheon landed the contract for support services at the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Lockheed had held the contract since 2000.

The job cuts announced Wednesday were unrelated to previously announced reductions in Colorado Springs, said Lockheed spokesman Dan Nelson in an e-mail to The Denver Post.

The announcement of the cuts comes more than a month after Lockheed Martin Corp. said it will spend $9 billion to buy Black Hawk helicopter maker Sikorsky Aircraft.

Its shares edged up in morning trading.

Denver Post reporter Alicia Wallace contributed to this report.