Boeing laying off 900 in LGB

MikeD

MikeD

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....and to close the manufacturing plant at KLGB, one of the last in California, by the end of next year. In addition, about 50-100 will be laid off at the Mesa, AZ plant at KFFZ.

By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times

Time is running out at Southern California's last major conventional aircraft factory.
Citing declining orders for its C-17 cargo planes, Boeing Co. said it was cutting 900 of the 3,700 jobs at its sprawling Long Beach plant. Barring congressional intervention or a spate of foreign orders — which analysts say is unlikely — the factory is expected to shut down completely by the end of next year......(continued)
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Story here:

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jan/20/business/la-fi-aerospace-layoffs-20110120
 
You know what really sucks. Boeing not keeping their product up to date so that it is attractive and comfortable to both the airlines and passengers that ride in the back.

Meanwhile, Airbus keeps taking more and more market share as they deliver aircraft that are right sized for the routes and comfortable for the passengers. We all know they aren't better planes, but they are winning at this game simply by being more responsive to customer needs.

Joe
 
JOEFRIDAY2 said:
You know what really sucks. Boeing not keeping their product up to date so that it is attractive and comfortable to both the airlines and passengers that ride in the back.

Meanwhile, Airbus keeps taking more and more market share as they deliver aircraft that are right sized for the routes and comfortable for the passengers. We all know they aren't better planes, but they are winning at this game simply by being more responsive to customer needs.

Joe
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I'd agree and disagree to this. The 777 is doing very well worldwide and is a very comfortable aircraft for passengers. The 787 will be a success even after it's teething pains of late. Where Boeing is dropping the ball right now is on a 737 replacement. They really need to do something in the 125-225 seat market to keep up with the competition.

It's a pity to see Long Beach go. I worked there in 98/99 and even then the production lines for the MD-11, MD-90, and MD-80 were drawing to a close. The junior production line workers had at least 25 years with the company. Those who could were transfering over to the C-17 because they knew that would be around for a few more years.



Typhoonpilot
 
JOEFRIDAY2 said:
You know what really sucks. Boeing not keeping their product up to date so that it is attractive and comfortable to both the airlines and passengers that ride in the back.

Meanwhile, Airbus keeps taking more and more market share as they deliver aircraft that are right sized for the routes and comfortable for the passengers. We all know they aren't better planes, but they are winning at this game simply by being more responsive to customer needs.

Joe
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A no more than 2 to 3 years, the South American continent will be 99% Airbus and 1% Embraer. Avianca was the first company in South America to fly Boeing. It is now a 100% Airbus company (still waiting for the 10 787's). How do you, on a company standpoint, justify the loss of an airline that has always pioneered your products ?
Airbus has come up with the right way of doing things. One type rating for the entire A31x fleet, and 2 day-courses to upgrade to A330 and A340. Boeing has just somewhat improved a 50 year-old airframe with the 737. I just a flew a 737-700 a few days ago. My god it's a cramped airplane. The cockpit has a lot of bare metal surfaces, the overhead panel is a stark reminder of how old the aircraft is. And now Airbus comes up with the NEO option, new engines on an already great airframe.
I've always been a Boeing man, but I have to say that Airbus has come up with much smarter solutions...
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
A no more than 2 to 3 years, the South American continent will be 99% Airbus and 1% Embraer. Avianca was the first company in South America to fly Boeing. It is now a 100% Airbus company (still waiting for the 10 787's). How do you, on a company standpoint, justify the loss of an airline that has always pioneered your products ?
Airbus has come up with the right way of doing things. One type rating for the entire A31x fleet, and 2 day-courses to upgrade to A330 and A340. Boeing has just somewhat improved a 50 year-old airframe with the 737. I just a flew a 737-700 a few days ago. My god it's a cramped airplane. The cockpit has a lot of bare metal surfaces, the overhead panel is a stark reminder of how old the aircraft is. And now Airbus comes up with the NEO option, new engines on an already great airframe.
I've always been a Boeing man, but I have to say that Airbus has come up with much smarter solutions...
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Same thing in Brazil, TAM has 84 orders for Airbus and 6 for Boeign.
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
A no more than 2 to 3 years, the South American continent will be 99% Airbus and 1% Embraer. Avianca was the first company in South America to fly Boeing. It is now a 100% Airbus company (still waiting for the 10 787's). How do you, on a company standpoint, justify the loss of an airline that has always pioneered your products ?
Airbus has come up with the right way of doing things. One type rating for the entire A31x fleet, and 2 day-courses to upgrade to A330 and A340. Boeing has just somewhat improved a 50 year-old airframe with the 737. I just a flew a 737-700 a few days ago. My god it's a cramped airplane. The cockpit has a lot of bare metal surfaces, the overhead panel is a stark reminder of how old the aircraft is. And now Airbus comes up with the NEO option, new engines on an already great airframe.
I've always been a Boeing man, but I have to say that Airbus has come up with much smarter solutions...
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What makes a 17" wide seat in an Airbus less cramped than in a Boeing?
 
JOEFRIDAY2 said:
You know what really sucks. Boeing not keeping their product up to date so that it is attractive and comfortable to both the airlines and passengers that ride in the back.

Meanwhile, Airbus keeps taking more and more market share as they deliver aircraft that are right sized for the routes and comfortable for the passengers. We all know they aren't better planes, but they are winning at this game simply by being more responsive to customer needs.

Joe
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Uhhh, as far as I can remember, the LGB plant is the C-17 production line. I don't know about the plant at FFZ, but what does a military transport have to do with keeping airliners attractive to the rest of the world?
 
mshunter said:
Uhhh, as far as I can remember, the LGB plant is the C-17 production line. I don't know about the plant at FFZ, but what does a military transport have to do with keeping airliners attractive to the rest of the world?
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Exactly. WTH does receiving less orders from the military for the C-17, causing layoffs as fewer of those planes need to be manufactured, have to do with the AB??? lol Talk about building the bridge to Terabithia. This move was actually publically announced by Boeing here in So. Ca. like 6 months ago, last Summer. Many of the employees have the opportunity to transfer to other Boeing facilities as well. They also announced at the time, several new programs for the military and for space exploration that are being developed at other locations.
 
mshunter said:
Uhhh, as far as I can remember, the LGB plant is the C-17 production line. I don't know about the plant at FFZ, but what does a military transport have to do with keeping airliners attractive to the rest of the world?
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KFFZ is the Hughes/McDD/Boeing AH-64 Apache production line.
 
A Life Aloft said:
That's nothing compared to the real horror of having some "bare metal surfaces" inside a cockpit. Good Lord, what is Boeing thinking? lmao
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Yes. A cramped cockpit vs. a spacious and well-finished cockpit. I don't know about you but if I'm spending the entire day in the cockpit I like nice seats, space to put my flight bag and be able to stand up and stretch a little without resetting the IRUs by accident. And having to wear constantly a headset because the cockpit is way much noisier than an a320 where you can cruise comfortably with no headset on.
I'm not starting a Boeing/Airbus war. These remarks are what in the end have a factory close and 900 people lose their job. You can't stretch 50 year-old airframes constantly when the competition builds from scratch using newer technology that improves pax comfort and more importantly for us, crew comfort.
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
Yes. A cramped cockpit vs. a spacious and well-finished cockpit. I don't know about you but if I'm spending the entire day in the cockpit I like nice seats, space to put my flight bag and be able to stand up and stretch a little without resetting the IRUs by accident. And having to wear constantly a headset because the cockpit is way much noisier than an a320 where you can cruise comfortably with no headset on.
I'm not starting a Boeing/Airbus war. These remarks are what in the end have a factory close and 900 people lose their job. You can't stretch 50 year-old airframes constantly when the competition builds from scratch using newer technology that improves pax comfort and more importantly for us, crew comfort.
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Nice seats eh.... I gotta say, any Boeing cockpit is a heck of a lot more comfortable than that of my Dash 8 or any regional jet out there.
 
Pépé le Pilot said:
I'm not starting a Boeing/Airbus war. These remarks are what in the end have a factory close and 900 people lose their job. You can't stretch 50 year-old airframes constantly when the competition builds from scratch using newer technology that improves pax comfort and more importantly for us, crew comfort.
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You do understand that the factory that will eventually be closing in Long Beach does not build/assemble aircraft for commercial pax and it's a C-17 operation and that the orders from the military have simply dropped? And do you realize that many of the employees will be and have been offered jobs at other Boeing facilities/programs?
 
The reason AB has kicked Boeing butt recently, has been the fact that AB is subsidized by the countries that employ them. It is not about performance, it is about price. Just like the seat in the back, if it is cheaper they will buy it. Also, all these socialist countries band together, simple as that. We are now the outsiders, we have allowed the rest of the world to catch up to us.
 
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