New Prodcution Rate Lower By Three Aircraft Per Year
As part of a transition announced last year, Boeing confirmed on
Thursday it will deliver 13 C-17 Globemaster III airlifters in 2011
as the company moves to a new production rate of 10 C-17s per year.
Boeing will reduce the production program's work force by
approximately 1,100 jobs through the end of 2012. The company
delivered 14 C-17s in 2010.
The move to the new production rate, announced in February 2010,
will be completed this summer and result in the elimination of the
second shift at the C-17 final assembly facility in Long Beach. The
lower production rate is designed to extend the line as Boeing
works to capture additional international orders.
"This has been a very difficult decision, no question about it,"
said Bob Ciesla, C-17 program manager. "But reducing the number of
C-17s we deliver every year -- and doing that with a smaller work
force -- will allow us to keep the production line open beyond
2012, protect jobs, and give potential customers more time to
finalize their airlift requirements."
Boeing will provide assistance for impacted workers seeking
potential positions elsewhere within the company. "We've been
communicating frequently with our employees about this process for
the past year and will continue to do so," said Ciesla.
Boeing anticipates that the work force reduction will primarily
impact Long Beach, where approximately 900 of the 1,100 reductions
will take place at the program's final assembly site. The remaining
200 reductions will impact C-17 production program employees in
Macon, Ga., Mesa, Ariz., and St. Louis. The company will try to
redeploy many of the affected employees to other programs or other
Boeing locations where the company has suitable job openings.
The program, which supports roughly 25,000 supplier jobs in 44
states, has an annual economic impact of approximately $5.8
billion. Now in its 18th year of service, the C-17 has supported
numerous military transport, humanitarian and disaster-relief
missions worldwide. The fleet continues to operate at an
accelerated rate due to the recent troop surge in Afghanistan. It
achieved 2 million total flight hours in December, less than five
years after it passed the 1 million-flight-hour mark in March
2006.
Boeing has delivered 226 C-17s worldwide, including 20 to
international customers. The U.S. Air Force -- including active
duty, National Guard, and Air Force Reserve units -- has taken
delivery of 206. Other customers include the United Kingdom Royal
Air Force, the Canadian Forces, the Royal Australian Air Force, the
United Arab Emirates Air Force, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, and the
12-member Strategic Airlift Capability initiative of NATO and
Partnership for Peace nations. India and Kuwait are expected to be
the next C-17 customers.