Boeing Boss Signals More Job Cuts, Supplier Squeeze

Boeing’s chief executive is signalling more job cuts in the company’s commercial airplane group and indicated it would also squeeze suppliers to cut prices in an effort to improve the aerospace giant’s profit margin.

“I’m sounding like Darth Vader here,” acknowledged Boeing boss Jim McNerney in an interview with the Seattle Times, adding that suppliers who don’t work with the company to cut costs would be told not to bid on projects.

“If a certain group is not working with us ... they’ll be on a no-fly list,” he said. “They’ll not be allowed to bid on new programs with Boeing.”

McNerney said the company’s focus would be on cutting costs and increasing productivity, but he provided no specifics on potential job cuts. However, he said Boeing's defense and space division has already cut “double-digit thousands” of jobs and the commercial airplane group would be doing that as well.

Boeing faces a decreasing defense budget and competitive commercial airplane pricing situation - some source say it is selling its new 787 Dreamliner at below cost.

But its stock has jumped since the grounding of the big jumbo jet over battery problems ended last month.

Boeing has already said it would cut some 4,000 engineering and production jobs in the Puget Sound region, and earlier this month announced it would also shed about 1,500 information technology positions in the area over the next three years.

For the Times story, click here.