Boeing Is Calling Back Its Retirees To Try To Fix Delays At Its 737 Jetliner Plant (cnbc.com) 63
Boeing is trying to fix delays at its 737 jetliner plant near Seattle, so it's turning to its retired workers. "Boeing started hiring retired mechanics and inspectors on a temporary basis after reaching an agreement with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers on August 15," reports CNBC. From the report: The snarl at its plant in Renton, Washington, triggered by shortages of engines and fuselages as Boeing sped production to record levels in June, is likely to hurt third-quarter results and threatens its goal to boost build rates again in 2019, some analysts said after meetings in the Seattle area last week. Investors will get a peek on Tuesday at how far behind Boeing is when it releases its order and delivery tallies for August, a month after deliveries fell to the lowest level in years. Deliveries are crucial to planemakers because that is when airlines pay most of what they owe for the aircraft. Boeing has already deployed about 600 employees and new hires to Renton in recent weeks to help fix delays, analysts said. It was not clear how many retired workers Boeing intends to hire.
Boeing Boeing Gone (Score:4, Interesting)
I thought Boeing was moving out of Seattle. So I guess there won't be another generation of aviation workers there after they use these oldsters up.
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Re:Boeing Boeing Gone (Score:5, Interesting)
I thought Boeing was moving out of Seattle. So I guess there won't be another generation of aviation workers there after they use these oldsters up.
That's just it, the company has been rather foolish in the way it's been handling production for quite some time now. And shockingly, providing bonuses for the half-assed work being done in North Carolina is having consequences.
It's beyond me why any of these people aren't looking for work elsewhere as it's clear that Boeing only cares about money and can't be bothered to think about the long term.
Heard that bit about the shoddy work too. The local airline bought a bunch of Boeings including some 787s and specified in the contract that they should be made in Seattle because they do better work and our airline is not alone in this. I have heard of other airlines refusing to accept aircraft made in other factories than the ones in Washington state, except I think the factory causing the problems was Charleston IIRC which is in South Carolina. If this is true Boeing would not be shooting themselves in the foot if they close down the facilities in Washington state, they'd be shooting their foot clean off.
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It's not in North Carolina. It's in North Charleston, South Carolina. They manufacture 787's though. Not 737's which are all manufactured in Washington state.
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"the Carolinas are a bit odd in that they behave sort of like a single state rather than 2 states as you get residency in both states. "
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Citation please. I have never heard of this.
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And you know that there isn't an issue with non-union built aircraft.
Unions have had their day but they lost their way long ago and quit being about the worker and became all concerned about themselves and their political power. As they stopped being about jobs and working conditions, they've stopped being useful. They have killed more businesses and lost more jobs than they have maintained though unreasonable and unsustainable demands. Every major airline, every major car manufacturer have been ravaged
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My dad, a union member and a life long employee of a major airline, lost a lot of his his pension partly because the various unions forced the airline into an unsustainable financial condition. The demise of the airline was plain to see for a decade or more but the unions didn't care about if the airline survived, only that they negotiated more and more benefits, higher and higher pay, regardless of the company's ability to survive such costs. For decades the airline was underfunding the pension funds, ac
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North Charleston, South Carolina... not much credibility when you even get the wrong state!
Quality issues were nearly a decade ago as the brand-new assembly line ramped up. Largely consistent quality and speed now with Everett now from what I understand.
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That is what happens when the workers fuck over the company though-- quid pro quo for the strikes.
While cost was likely a major driver, there were plenty of other business reasons that having a second major production facility outside of Washington State for the commercial aviation division made (and makes) solid business sense. There aren't enough qualified people in Puget Sound, and diversification makes sense from a natural disaster standpoint. The fact that the 787-10 wouldn't work with the Dreamlifte
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Just think about the money they could save if they could resurrect the dead
I saw that movie. It doesn't turn out well.
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The problem with the boomer generation is that they never wanted to confront aging and death. The generation who said never trust anyone over 35, is now in their 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.
Previous generation had put in effort in supporting their kids and new employees and mentoring to be able to replace them when they were gone and working up the company ladder to success.
Not so much now. The boomers will see a “kid” and if they are good at there job they will not fire him that day
Retired? (Score:5, Interesting)
Were they retired workers or were they "retired" workers. Is retiring something the workers did or was it something that happened to them?
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Re: Retired? (Score:1)
And itâ(TM)s for a short term. Unfortunately for the workers in the medium term they are worst off and financially stuffed
Re: Retired? (Score:2)
Bravo! With complete ignorance of the ACTUAL situation at boeing you literally invented everything in your post.
Perhaps it's more cost-effective to bring back trained employees with decades of experience to address a short term production issue than to wait months while you train new hires? Remember, the union had to agree to this decision to bring back retired workers.
Re:Retired? (Score:5, Interesting)
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This.
But Boeing's problems are being aggravated by that silly-assed moving assembly line they implemented*. The out of sequence work is just that much more difficult to do once an incomplete plane moves off the end of the line**.
*In manufacturing, you move the parts when they are small in comparison to the tooling. This is not the case with aircraft. The problem at Boeing was that managers were not capable of looking at the shop floor and judging progress with the old fixed position system. Because they w
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Sounds like they thought building bombers during WW2 was super cool and they wanted that feeling again. Guess they needed to hire some more retired gals.
Boeing is crazy (Score:2, Interesting)
I never understood them. They have these massive waves of layoffs, as if the market has collapsed or something, but actually their product is back ordered for years and all they need to do to make money is make more airplanes. You might think they're trying to get rid of low-performing or overpaid employees but those are the ones that seem to stick around the longest.
They're not attractive to young engineers any more, the old folks are all near retirement with houses and boats and nice cars and money in the
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It is baffling at times but then results from decisions made now will not show until 10 or 20 years later. It also seems Boeing is on the ragged edge where profits are a smidget to expenses. Boeing risked their whole existence with development of the Dash 80, started on SST but bailed (a ***lot*** of people laid off), gambled on 747 which paid off. Same with 777 and 787 which are a good fit for point-to-point airline model now favored over hub-and-spoke which only jumbo jets are good for i.e. A380 (their cu
Deliveries are crucial to planemakers (Score:2)
Deliveries are crucial to planemakers because that is when airlines pay most of what they owe for the aircraft
Aren't deliveries crucial to *any* manufacturer? There are not many cases I can think of where a manufacturer stays viable by never delivering their product. I know first hand that it is an actual business strategy at some companies but that's never sustainable. Theranos has tried to pull it off, it did not work so well.
Re: Deliveries are crucial to planemakers (Score:2)
You obviously weren't around for the dot com boom
You obviously think for dot com companies were "manufacturers" - most were not.
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"There are not many cases I can think of where a manufacturer stays viable by never delivering their product."
Nuclear missiles?
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That's the disappointing part of being a nuclear missile designer, you never get to see your product work.
Re: Deliveries are crucial to planemakers (Score:2)
Missiles that are not delivered are not paid for.
Re: Deliveries are crucial to planemakers (Score:2)
Re: I Guess They Missed a Part (Score:2)
Back in 2008 unemployment benefits ran for years, rather than the typical 26 weeks - Dems needed the votes so we kept declaring emergency extensions. Nancy Pelosi actually said unemployment checks were the best thing the gov't could possibly spend money on, since every dollar in unemployment benefits generated $2-3 in financial activity!
Boeing emploees (Score:1)
Keep in mind ... (Score:2)
Same as it ever was, nothing to see here (Score:2)
Nothing to see here, folks, it's been happening for a long time. I've witnessed many cycles where Boeing is in a crunch for some reason, and gets experienced retirees to come back to get them over the hump. Win-win.
They're going through a well-documented crunch getting 737s and 787s out the door with ramped up production schedules. Main issue is that the airframe and engine suppliers are not keeping pace. So they are calling in the grey beards to help get back on track.
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Main issue is that the airframe and engine suppliers are not keeping pace.
That's not just for Boeing. This is happening in every area of manufacturing in the US right now. The economy is hyper stimulated. Order boards are full, suppliers can't keep up, nobody can find good labor. Companies are very hesitant to commit big capital to increase production. It's seen as a temporary issue and nobody want's to spend a lot of money only to see the market "correct".
Hiring back retirees seems like a good solution.