Company Reportedly Considering Closure Of Modification
Center
Boeing is reportedly seriously considering closing its
modification center in Wichita, which has gotten the attention of
lawmakers and union leaders in the state.
KC-46A Tanker Artist's Concept
Following an announcement by the planemaker Monday that it was
studying the viability of its Wichita operation, elected and union
officials requested a meeting with Boeing. They say the company
made promises to put jobs in Kansas should they be awarded the
KC-46A contract from the Air Force, which they did in February.
But the Wichita Eagle reports that, according to Kansas
Governor Sam Brownback, there is no written agreement or contract
requiring Boeing to stay open in Wichita. Republican Congressman
Mike Pompeo, who represents the Wichita area, said he has requested
a meeting with Boeing CEO Jim McNerney to "remind them of their
obligations that they have made in seeing these tankers are built
in Kansas and in Wichita."
In a statement released Monday and reproduced on the website of
Seattle television station KOMO, the planemaker said:
"Boeing is studying the future of
its Wichita, Kan., facility as part of an initiative to address the
current defense budget environment. The Wichita facility faces
pressures because of product and services contracts that have
matured and expired, and limited prospects for future
work.
We are in the process of engaging
key stakeholders - including customers, government officials and
union representatives - to share this information as we continue to
have open and candid discussions about the challenges we face in
the current budget and economic environment. Among the options
being reviewed is the potential closure of the Wichita site.
Because of defense budget pressures, we are conducting a number of
market studies to determine how to best preserve and grow our
business, and continue to provide quality and cost-efficient
services for our customers.
We anticipate completion of the
Wichita study by the end of the year or in early 2012."
Senator Moran said the move did not seem to be a tactic on the
part of Boeing to get the state to promise new incentives to stay
in Kansas, or a negotiating tool for upcoming contract talks with
the machinists union. He said the issue seems to be whether it's
more economical to finish the airplane as it goes down the line in
Everett, WA, than to fly them to Kansas for the same work. And with
no market for the tanker outside the U.S., it would be conceivable
that there would not be enough work to fill the Wichita plant.
The Wichita Eagle reports that local and union
officials have also requested a meeting with Boeing. Ray Goforth,
executive director of the Society of Professional Engineering
Employees in Aerospace has already set a meeting December 1 to talk
about the study. “At this time of Congressional scrutiny of
defense budgets, it would be a mistake to materially alter the
tanker program they sold to the customer,” Goforth said in a
statement posted on the SPEEA website.
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