Posted on 06/03/2006 4:55:32 PM PDT by phantomworker
Boeing will limit its hiring of local engineers for design of the 747-8, the new derivative of its iconic jumbo jet, and give a major role to engineers at Boeing's Moscow Design Center and at outside suppliers.
"It's a different model than we had 20 years ago, when we'd hire all the people and put them in a building in Seattle, and then have them all go away or try to find another project for them afterwards," said Jeff Peace, Boeing vice president and 747-8 program manager, in a teleconference program update with reporters Thursday.
"As a global company, we're recognizing and utilizing the world's capability in engineering."
Peace said Boeing is hiring engineers in the Puget Sound region, and eventually the number working here on the 747-8 will be "in the high 100s."
He did not project specific numbers of 747-8 engineers elsewhere.
On a more reassuring note for local workers, Peace said Boeing won't shift significant 747 production work from the region. The 747-8 is a new version of the 36-year-old jumbo jet; it will enter service as a freighter in late 2009 and as a passenger jet in 2010.
Boeing has so far secured orders only for the freighter version but anticipates its first passenger-model orders this year.
One key market is Japan, where Boeing hopes the 747-8 can help maintain its virtual monopoly despite the debut of the new Airbus A380 superjumbo.
All Nippon Airways is a potential buyer of the passenger model.
According to an industry expert in Japan who asked for anonymity, All Nippon will decide on a replacement for its 365-seat 747-400s in the summer and will choose between the 555-seat Airbus A380, the 365-seat Boeing 777-300ER and the new 450-seat Boeing 747-8.
(Excerpt) Read more at archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com ...
More work going to Russia?
Cool. Punish unions and solidify foreign relations. What's not to like?
Great idea, let the Russians design it. It'll be made of carbon steel, weigh 4 million pounds, have to have engines the size of Texas to fly, and no thought will be given to metal fatigue.
I know a few "locals", recent college grads with good grades, that can't find work. Why not hire them first?
What's wrong with this picture? LOLOL!!
If they can't find work, I hope it's not because they took degrees in the humanities. That would be a waste.
How about engineering and computer science? White males!
And did they get their good grades in a field that is looking for recent college grads?
You did not say.
Not to start something, but you know, white males DO have a problem getting jobs these days. (And I am not even a white male saying this.)
Are those 8 engines? LOL
As for me, I found that when I passed fifty, I became marginally employable while highly skilled.
I had to pull out of Seattle (Tukwila, actually) because age discrimination closed down the job market for me. Luckily, I was able to pole vault into retirement and haven't looked back. For recent grads, all I can say is that the Northwest has been an unemployment problem for the last decade.
Move.
So age discrimination is becoming a problem even for the highly skilled? The NW is booming. What other part of the county is hiring? Maybe too much work is being outsourced?
using "ground effect" not intended to fly.
They did pretty good using a tape and mic on the Boeing B-29 they commandeered after it had been forced to land in NE Russia in WWII. Seattle just needs to send them a sample.
When unemployment is at 4.6%, outsourcing isn't the problem.
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