Boeing to cut 900 jobs

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- City officials said they were prepared for Boeing

Co.’s announcement that it will eliminate 900 jobs at its Huntington

Beach plant over the next 15 months.

The aerospace giant plans to redirect work on its Delta rocket production

and C-17 military aircraft to Colorado and Alabama. The cuts, which could

begin as early as next month, are part of a consolidation of

manufacturing operations that began in 1997, after the Seattle-based

company’s acquisition of rival McDonnell Douglas, Boeing officials said.

The layoffs will affect 11% of the company’s 7,940 workers who are

employed in the areas of production and manufacturing.

“We were not surprised that the layoffs had to do with manufacturing,”

city spokesman Rich Barnard said. “Boeing has said that manufacturing is

difficult in Southern California when competing against other areas of

the country because of the high cost of living.”

Southern California is a competitive market for engineering and design

because those positions pay higher wages, Barnard said.

City Administrator Ray Silver said the latest cuts were expected because

both Boeing and McDonnell Douglas told city officials in previous years

that Huntington Beach would not sustain manufacturing positions in their

companies.

“We knew all along that we were unable to sustain manufacturing jobs,” he

said.

Even so, Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff said she is disappointed that

Boeing, the city’s largest employer, has to end jobs at the site.

“It is very disruptive to the families of those affected,” Dettloff said.

“If they can be absorbed into [Huntington Beach’s] economy, it would be

the best solution.”

Walter Rice, a spokesman for Boeing’s Huntington Beach plant, said the

cuts were made because the company has too many facilities that produce

the Delta rockets.

“The business we are in is extremely competitive on a global scale,” he

said.

Production of the Delta rockets, which are used for satellite launches,

will be transferred to Pueblo, Colo., and Decatur, Ala.

Boeing officials said they will help those affected to find other jobs

within the company or employment elsewhere in the community.

Because Boeing pays taxes in property instead of sales, the cuts will not

affect Huntington Beach’s economy, said David Biggs, the city’s economic

development director.

Although 900 jobs were cut, Biggs said there is a net gain of Boeing jobs

in the city since 3,000 employees transferred to the Surf City plant last

year, after the closure of the company’s Downey facility.

“The bottom line is that Boeing has moved many more jobs here than we are

losing,” he said. “Job growth in research and development has far

exceeded any job lost in manufacturing.”Rice said the company has a

transition center to help those laid off. The center offers search

assistance, as well as help with resume writing and interviewing skills.

In addition, Biggs said Boeing employees can use services provided by the

state’s employment and development agency and the county’s One Stop

Center. Both agencies provide employment referrals, job searching and

resume skills, and job listings.

Boeing began operating in Huntington Beach in 1997. In a three-year

period, the number of the plant’s employees grew from 5,800 to 7,940. The

company also has facilities in Seal Beach and Anaheim.

Its Huntington Beach-based Space and Communication unit manages the Delta

family of rockets, Global Positioning System satellites, the Airborne

Laser and National Missile Defense programs, company officials said. The

company’s work on the space shuttle program in Huntington Beach will not

be affected by the consolidation, Boeing said.

The Surf City plant will continue to serve as Boeing’s primary design and

engineering center for space transportation programs.