Thirty-one state IT workers -- employees of the Virginia Information Technology Agency -- got a sales pitch Tuesday from Northrop Grumman at the Tanglewood Holiday Inn. The goal: Persuade them to leave state employ and join Northrop Grumman.

On July 1, the company will take over the operation of Virginia's IT infrastructure, and about 927 VITA employees will have to choose whether to stick with the state or move to the private sector.

In addition, the company expects to hire more than 400 additional people by mid-2007 for the data center it's building in Lebanon as part of its contract with the state.

"We're making a lot of investment in Virginia," said Ken Malecki, Solutions architect for Northrop Grumman. "This is a long-term program -- we're going to be growing here."

The company hopes to lure those current VITA employees onto its payroll where they'll continue their VITA work, according to Joe Fay, the company's VITA program director. But they'll also have the opportunity to move to other areas.

"From an HR perspective, talent is really in demand," said Donna Diederich, the company's human resources director for commercial, state and local businesses. In other words, Northrop Grumman wants to bring in as many good people as possible into its fold.

To do that, it's offering VITA employees a 4 percent pay raise, and up to a 6 percent signing bonus for employees who join the company in the first 30 days after the offers are made; they'll be sent out at the beginning of May.

Northrop Grumman is also counting the employees' commonwealth service toward such things as leave time and retirement benefits -- they won't be considered new employees. It's also offering extra holidays, merit bonuses, a pension plan and guaranteed employment for 12 months.

Medical, dental and life insurance coverage is comparable to what VITA provides, according to Tom Bradshaw, VITA's regional service director and one of the people considering a move to Northrop Grumman. The company also extends those benefits to spouses and same- or opposite-sex domestic partners.

When things like the company's matching up to 4 percent of an employee's 401(k) contribution are factored in, Diederich told the group that the bottom line was "really about a 20 percent increase your first year."

Bradshaw said that from his conversations with fellow employees, he thinks "more will go to Northrop Grumman than not," an expectation echoed by the company's survey of 340 VITA employees.

According to that survey, 59.4 percent of people said they would accept the Northrop Grumman offer. The biggest concerns raised were regarding retirement plans, paid leave and health care costs.

As Bradshaw pointed out, the state lets people retire after 30 years of service. "If you have 28 years, you're going to say, 'I'll put two more years in and then go over' "

Fay said the company's original expectation was lower. "Initially we were about half [coming to Northrop Grumman]," he said. "Now we're trying to do better than that."

Besides the VITA employees it hopes to lure, the company expects to hire more than 400 people within a year after the Lebanon data center opens (it's scheduled for July 1). That center, along with one outside Richmond, will not only serve the state's needs, but will also provide support for Northrop Grumman as well as the company's other customers.

"We're going to bring jobs -- and not just VITA jobs," Fay said.