Link : http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/busin...1-23349,00.html
QUOTE ('The Australian')
Boeing Silent On Job Losses In Australia
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer | January 30, 2009
BOEING is refusing to speculate on how many Australian workers will lose their jobs as a result of a 6 per cent across-the-board cut in the US aerospace giant's global workforce.
The company employs 3800 people in Australia in a variety of businesses and has already shed about 500 jobs at its Hawker de Havilland subsidiary in Melbourne.
It revealed the new global job target of 10,000 reductions after it reported this week a fourth-quarter loss of $US56million ($84.9 million).
The goal includes 4500 job losses previously announced.
A Boeing spokesman last night said he was unable to say how many additional jobs could be lost in Australia and said he was unable to speculate on the announcement's impact.
Boeing predicted full-year revenue would be $US68 billion to $US69 billion, with its commercial airplane unity accounting for $US34 billion to $US35 billion of that.
Its guidance on profit, of $US5.05 to $US5.35 a share, was below analysts' average expectations. But it also warned there could be an increase in cancelled or deferred orders this year as airlines coped with falling travel demand and tighter credit.
Almost a third of the world's carriers were likely to defer deliveries this year, up from 8 per cent three months ago, a survey released last week by UBS Investment Research showed.
Chief executive officer Jim McNerney said the aerospace company must prepare for continued market uncertainty and was taking steps to manage costs and investments more aggressively.
Mr McNerney said the cuts were expected to be spread over the year with an emphasis on the first half.
They would come from support services, corporate positions and the defence side of the business.
The company attributed most of its fourth-quarter loss, down from a net income of $US1.03 billion a year ago, to an eight-week strike by machinists that affected its Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other programs. The strike stripped $US1.8 billion from full-year earnings.
Boeing also shipped just 50 aircraft in the quarter, 70 fewer than planned.
It plans to deliver 480-485 planes this year, compared to a July estimate of 500-505, and may have to provide $1billion in financing to customers who can not find funding elsewhere.
"The progress we made in many areas of Boeing during 2008 was outweighed by the impact of the strike and our performance in some key development programs," Mr McNerney said. "Our imperative going forward is improving execution where it needs to be improved, maintaining strong performance across all our production programs and preserving our economic strength to grow in these challenging economic times."
The manufacturer revealed that one airline had cancelled an order for 15 787s scheduled for delivery late next decade.
The fuel-efficient 787 is a major plank in the Qantas fleet strategy. The airline has 65 firm orders.
The Dreamliner is already two years late and the cancellations, reportedly by Russia's S7 Group, brings the order backlog down to 895.
Mr McNerney said more orders could be cancelled this year, but said the company was still confident of the aircraft's value to customers.
Boeing said the Dreamliner made some progress during the quarter despite the strike.
Key milestones included FAA approval of the scheduled maintenance program and a successful wing-box destruction test.
It said work on replacing incorrectly installed fasteners was now largely finished on the first two test aircraft. But there was little further detail on delivery or flight schedules, despite suggestions the first flight could be in April.
"As announced in December, the company expects first flight of the 787 to occur in the second quarter of 2009 and deliveries to begin in the first quarter of 2010," the manufacturer said.
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer | January 30, 2009
BOEING is refusing to speculate on how many Australian workers will lose their jobs as a result of a 6 per cent across-the-board cut in the US aerospace giant's global workforce.
The company employs 3800 people in Australia in a variety of businesses and has already shed about 500 jobs at its Hawker de Havilland subsidiary in Melbourne.
It revealed the new global job target of 10,000 reductions after it reported this week a fourth-quarter loss of $US56million ($84.9 million).
The goal includes 4500 job losses previously announced.
A Boeing spokesman last night said he was unable to say how many additional jobs could be lost in Australia and said he was unable to speculate on the announcement's impact.
Boeing predicted full-year revenue would be $US68 billion to $US69 billion, with its commercial airplane unity accounting for $US34 billion to $US35 billion of that.
Its guidance on profit, of $US5.05 to $US5.35 a share, was below analysts' average expectations. But it also warned there could be an increase in cancelled or deferred orders this year as airlines coped with falling travel demand and tighter credit.
Almost a third of the world's carriers were likely to defer deliveries this year, up from 8 per cent three months ago, a survey released last week by UBS Investment Research showed.
Chief executive officer Jim McNerney said the aerospace company must prepare for continued market uncertainty and was taking steps to manage costs and investments more aggressively.
Mr McNerney said the cuts were expected to be spread over the year with an emphasis on the first half.
They would come from support services, corporate positions and the defence side of the business.
The company attributed most of its fourth-quarter loss, down from a net income of $US1.03 billion a year ago, to an eight-week strike by machinists that affected its Boeing 787 Dreamliner and other programs. The strike stripped $US1.8 billion from full-year earnings.
Boeing also shipped just 50 aircraft in the quarter, 70 fewer than planned.
It plans to deliver 480-485 planes this year, compared to a July estimate of 500-505, and may have to provide $1billion in financing to customers who can not find funding elsewhere.
"The progress we made in many areas of Boeing during 2008 was outweighed by the impact of the strike and our performance in some key development programs," Mr McNerney said. "Our imperative going forward is improving execution where it needs to be improved, maintaining strong performance across all our production programs and preserving our economic strength to grow in these challenging economic times."
The manufacturer revealed that one airline had cancelled an order for 15 787s scheduled for delivery late next decade.
The fuel-efficient 787 is a major plank in the Qantas fleet strategy. The airline has 65 firm orders.
The Dreamliner is already two years late and the cancellations, reportedly by Russia's S7 Group, brings the order backlog down to 895.
Mr McNerney said more orders could be cancelled this year, but said the company was still confident of the aircraft's value to customers.
Boeing said the Dreamliner made some progress during the quarter despite the strike.
Key milestones included FAA approval of the scheduled maintenance program and a successful wing-box destruction test.
It said work on replacing incorrectly installed fasteners was now largely finished on the first two test aircraft. But there was little further detail on delivery or flight schedules, despite suggestions the first flight could be in April.
"As announced in December, the company expects first flight of the 787 to occur in the second quarter of 2009 and deliveries to begin in the first quarter of 2010," the manufacturer said.