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Title: Boeing cutting 900 jobs at California plant
Source:
Canadian Business
URL Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/mar ... /article.jsp?content=D9KS6LU00
Published: Jan 20, 2011
Author: ap
Post Date: 2011-01-20 12:35:14 by Happy Quanzaa
Keywords: Obamanomics in Action
Views: 5076
Comments: 5
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Dwindling domestic demand for C-17 cargo planes will force Boeing Co. to slash 1,100 jobs at its U.S. plants, most of them in Long Beach where the aerospace giant has cut 13,000 jobs since the 1990s, the company said Thursday. The 900 jobs in Long Beach and 200 jobs at plants in Mesa, Ariz., Macon, Ga., and St. Louis will be cut by the end of next year. The cuts include accountants, midlevel management, engineering, research and assembly line workers. Affected workers will receive 60-day notices beginning Friday, with layoffs staggered monthly through 2012. Boeing said it will assist affected workers in trying to land positions elsewhere in the company. The C-17 has been a military workhorse since production began in 1993. The U.S. Air Force has purchased 206 to date, with others owned by Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. India and Kuwait have placed orders for a combined 11 aircraft. If approved as expected in coming months, the deal with India's Air Force should keep the Long Beach production line in operation through 2013. In Long Beach, the Boeing work force has dwindled from 20,000 employees in the 1990s to less than 7,000. Downsizing is necessary to slow the C-17 production schedule — from 14 aircraft annually to 10 — and keep plants operating with a smaller work force while international orders are sought for the plane, Boeing said. "I've been working on the C-17 for 20 years and I personally know a lot of the great people who work on this, so it's weighing heavily on me," C-17 program manager Bob Ciesla said in a statement. "But it's simply something that needed to be done." Boeing has been restructuring its operations in Long Beach. It recently announced the transfer 800 engineering and research positions to Oklahoma by the end of the year as well as the shutdown of a 160-employee parts warehouse in Carson, Calif., this summer. Employees were told of the latest layoffs Wednesday. "Between this and recent layoffs at the warehouse facility, it's been overwhelming. The jobs are just drying up," said Stan Klemchuck, president of United Aerospace Workers Local 148, which represents about 1,700 workers in Long Beach. In a statement, Mayor Bob Foster said it was disappointing. "Our rich history of aerospace manufacturing makes this an emotional day for Long Beach, as the C-17 plant is the last of what was previously a robust aerospace manufacturing industry in California," Foster said.
Boeing cutting 900 jobs at California plant, citing declining orders for C-17 cargo planes
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#1. To: Happy Quanzaa, Brian S (#0)
Say it ain't so! Baghdad Brian told us ALL is well in the economy! Lower unemployment numbers, a chicken in every pot....
In the end, the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it. ... The heresy of heresies was common sense. ME: Thanks for admitting that you ARE trying to spin this (AZ shooting, and terrorism) onto Palin, and conservatives in general. ME: THERE IS NO MORE MONEY. {{{chuckle}}}
Never swear "allegiance" to anything other than the 'right to change your mind'!
It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Pork! President Barack Obama and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates want to leave the Cold War in the past—finally—and reshape the U.S. military into more of a counterinsurgency force. They have made reforming weapons acquisition a major priority, saying that some hardware designed for battling Soviet armies or other massive foes in vast open-field clashes ought to be replaced by lighter, less expensive gear. The Administration has pared billions from the budget for the Lockheed Martin (LMT) F-22 fighter, a super-sophisticated plane conceived in the 1980s for dogfights against Moscow's best. The Pentagon has also reined in a sprawling high-tech infantry project called Future Combat Systems that Boeing (BA) oversees. All told, a half-dozen major weapons systems have been eliminated for an estimated savings of more than $100 billion over coming decades. But it's not like military spending is actually going down. At a projected $107 billion for 2010 alone—a 5% rise over this year—the Pentagon's base budget for planes, ships, missiles, and guns has grown more than 50% since 2000. Reforming and redirecting military procurement always riles members of Congress trying to protect jobs in their home districts. Lawmakers are teaming up with Lockheed, Boeing, and other defense contractors to push back fiercely on certain targeted programs, even when the Pentagon says it doesn't need the weaponry in question. In some areas, organized labor has joined the fight. The C-17 Globemaster offers one illustration of successful opposition to the Obama-Gates push for control of weapons spending. C-17s are large cargo planes produced by Boeing that cost $250 million apiece. They have been used heavily since 1993 to transport troops, tanks, and supplies. Every year since 2006, the Pentagon has said that it has enough C-17s. And every year, Congress overrules the military and authorizes funds for additional planes. In October the Senate approved $2.5 billion in the 2010 budget for 10 more C-17s, which would bring the fleet to 215. [exc end]
Politics brought the aerospace industry to SoCal as NASA was brought to Huston by politics and LBJ. The wheel turns and business goes to more amenable states.
Well, [war's] got to do something for attention, his multiple personalities aren't speaking to him any more, and his imaginary friends keep finding excuses not to come over.
Yep:
-- George Orwell, 1984 --
Brian S(ocialist): I have never hidden that fact...
GO65: There will be no more money when the U.S. dollar has no value, until that time we can keep printing more. 
#2. To: Capitalist Eric (#1)
Baghdad Brian
#3. To: Happy Quanzaa (#0)
Boeing's C-17 cargo aircraft cost $250 million apiece. The Pentagon says it has plenty. But it's nearly impossible for Obama to kill a project that provides jobs in 43 states [Bloomberg Businessweek In Depth October 29, 2009,]
#4. To: All (#0)
"Our rich history of aerospace manufacturing makes this an emotional day for Long Beach, as the C-17 plant is the last of what was previously a robust aerospace manufacturing industry in California," Foster said.
#5. To: Rudgear (#4)
The wheel turns and business goes to more amenable states.
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