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Airbus consolidating operations in Virginia

Airbus' first aircraft assembled in the U.S. takes off on its first flight March 21 in Mobile, Ala. (Photo/Airbus)

Airbus is investing $1 million in its Ashburn, Va., facility, to consolidate operations with Satair Group. Airbus owns Satair, which is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The move will make the Ashburn operation Airbus' largest by volume, according to Loudoun County Economic Development. The news was first reported by Virginia Business.

Airbus has been making forays into the southeastern United States for several years, including a manufacturing and assembly facility in Mobile, Ala., for the A321. The jet is designed to be a direct competitor for Boeing's 737, and the company's first U.S.-made aircraft. The first A321 built in Mobile took off in March.

Airbus also has an engineering center at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley and a North American military customer services operation near Mobile Regional Airport. 

 

Boeing plans to cut 4,000 jobs at midyear

Following up on Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Ray Conner’s announcement last month that the company would cut jobs, the Boeing Co. has confirmed plans to eliminate about 4,000 jobs in its Commercial Airplanes division, likely this summer.

The cuts — planned for “midyear” — include hundreds of executive and manager positions, Boeing spokesman Doug Alder Jr. said in an emailed statement. None of the positions are expected to be involuntary layoffs.

“We’ve been able to reduce staffing levels through attrition, leaving open positions unfilled, and voluntary layoffs. We’ll only use involuntary layoffs as a last resort‎,” Alder said. “We continue to follow our plan announced last month to make fundamental changes for the long term to win in the market, fund our growth and operate as a healthy business.”

In the company's latest earnings call, Conner said intense competition from Airbus was forcing Boeing to reduce costs in plane production.

The Boeing Commercial Airplanes division includes the 787 Dreamliner program in North Charleston and Everett, Wash. Boeing South Carolina employs about 7,500 people across all of its divisions, including the 787 campus, interiors facility, propulsion center, and research and technology operations.

“We do not anticipate reducing the number of direct Boeing employees at BSC (Boeing South Carolina),” Boeing spokeswoman Elizabeth Merida said. “We can ease any impact and cover our business needs through natural attrition and having temporary and contract workers.”

Regarding the job cuts, The Seattle Times reported Tuesday that Boeing’s Test and Evaluation division, which conducts flight, ground and lab tests in the Puget Sound area, plans to reduce its workforce by 10%, according to an internal Boeing document obtained by the newspaper.

Boeing plans job cuts in airplane programs

Boeing plans to cut jobs in its commercial airplanes division, which includes its 787 Dreamliner program in North Charleston (pictured). The company did not disclose where, when or how many jobs will be eliminated. (Photo/Liz Segrist)

In an effort to remain competitive and cut costs, Boeing plans to eliminate an unspecified number of jobs in its commercial airplane programs, division CEO Ray Conner told employees in a webcast on Wednesday.

Boeing did not release any information on how many jobs will be cut, which sites or programs will be impacted or when cuts will occur.

The Boeing Commercial Airplanes division includes the 787 Dreamliner program in North Charleston and Everett, Wash. Boeing spokespeople declined to comment on whether cuts will impact Boeing South Carolina’s Dreamliner program.

Boeing South Carolina employs about 7,500 people across all of its divisions, including the 787 campus, interiors facility, propulsion center, and research and technology operations.

“To win in the market, fund our growth and operate as a healthy business, we are taking thoughtful steps to reduce the cost of designing and building our airplanes,” Boeing spokesman Doug Alder said in an emailed statement.

Part of the new cost-cutting plan involves evaluating employment levels across the entire Commercial Airplanes program, beginning with executives and managers. Boeing plans to use attrition as well as voluntary layoffs. The company said involuntary layoffs may be necessary.   

“The overall employment impact will depend on how effectively we bring down costs as a whole,” Alder said.

Boeing to build planes in China

Boeing's 737 Final Assembly line in Renton, Wash. (Photo/Boeing)

Boeing plans to build its first airplane manufacturing plant outside of the United States in an effort to remain competitive with European rival Airbus.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said he sees more 737 work going to China, though any changes in U.S. production would not result in layoffs in Washington state, where 737s are built, according to a report by Reuters.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Ray Conner said in an internal memo obtained by Reuters that the company was negotiating a strategic partnership and sales with China and that discussions are at “a sensitive stage.”

“I hope (it) will be a win for Boeing, a win for the Puget Sound, and a win for our stakeholders. I want to assure you that agreements we may reach with our Chinese partners will not result in layoffs or reduce employment for the 737 program in Washington state,” Conner wrote.

Boeing has signed deals to establish an aircraft plant in China and sell 300 planes to three Chinese firms, according to a separate Reuters report. ICBC Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., a unit of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, will buy 30 737-800 jets. China Aviation Supplies Holding Co. and China Development Bank Leasing are also buying jets.

Collectively, this deal will likely be worth tens of billions of dollars — the largest order Boeing has received from Chinese companies, the Reuters report said.