Boeing takes step to shut down C-17 production

[mahatmakanejeeves]

I live near Andrews AFB. I'm used to seeing these.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?view=CN&storyID=2007-03-02T213108Z_01_N02224092_RTRIDST_0_BOEING-C17-UPDATE-2.XML&rpc=66&type=qcna|Boeing takes step to shut down C-17 production>

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) - Boeing Co. (BA.N: Quote, Profile , Research) took the first step on Friday to end production of its C-17 military cargo plane in 2009 due to flagging interest from the U.S. government and overseas customers, the company said.

....
But the company said it is carrying more financial risk this year and would require funding for up to 16 planes in the next federal budget to keep the C-17 production line running through mid-2010 at its current rate of 15 planes per year, the most cost-efficient schedule.

More than 7,000 jobs are at stake in California, Missouri, Georgia and Arizona, the company said.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=&ie=ISO-8859-1&ncl=1114107169

[El Supremo]

1. They're also stopping prodution on the 717

Anything McDonnell Douglas designed is toast.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/258819_lastplane09.html

[Howardx]

2. that hurts

i live in lakewood, which borders the long beach airport which is home of the c17. we need those few remaining jobs.

[anotherdrew]

3. so... they must be ramping up production of something else or do we not need tranports?

Last I heard the military is constantly crying that it doesn't have enough air transport planes, and now this... so typical really.

[Trajan]

4. I worked at the Long Beach plant ....

It was my first aerospace job (Electrical Assembler/Installer) .... on the Bldg 13 DC9 Line, which Boeing now (more or less) refers to as the 717 ...

My brother was laid off from the RAMS/C17 team about 6 years ago, and they have been slowly losing headcount through attrition for literally decades ...

Aerospace is DEAD in So Cal .... I had my final layoff in 2003 from the Autonetics plant (former Rockwell, now Boeing) ... ALL the Rockwell and Douglas businesses were purchased by Boeing in the late 90's, and so if it aint happening there, it aint happening period .... Autonetics is closing, and moving to Astronautics in Huntington Beach ... GD left Pomona long ago .... Downey Rockwell, Palmdale Rockwell, Monrovia Douglas .. Fullerton Hughes .... ALL closed .... 500,000 jobs dwindled to 60,000 in 20 years ... I think it has to do mostly with the loss of senatorial power, which California had in Cranston and Hiyakawa in the 60's and 70's .... They are long gone now, and so is their influence .... Texas, Alabama, and Georgia are 'right to work' states, and you will find many of those 'lost' jobs there now, at reduced compensation, or course ....

I wandered for a spell before landing in the NW at another division of Rockwell: one that still lives and breathes ..... and working for 80% of my former wage ....

Yeah ... It's a tough biz .... But the C17 just didnt 'take off' like it should have, and it's hard to imagine producing aircraft that wont sell, just to say you are making aircraft ....

I left MacDac/Long Beach in 1980 .... I haven't looked back (much) ...

[fladonkey]

5. This is very sad....

years ago I worked at ECC which designed all the simulators. This was a great project and very efficient; it could carry several companies, their equipment and even jeeps.