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Long-term jobs of 1,500 O.C. aircraft workers in doubt
April 7th, 2009, 10:11 am · 7 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor
Boeing C-17
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has recommended that the government stop ordering more of the Boeing C-17 transport aircraft that are manufactured in Long Beach, a suggestion that could eventually reduce or eliminate 5,000 jobs, about 1,500 of which are held by Orange County residents.
Gates made the recommendation on Monday as part of a large effort to cut costs and realign the strategic capabilities of the military.
The C-17 plant in Long Beach currently has enough U.S. Air Force and international orders to keep the facility operating through fall 2010. It’s possible that Congress will reject Gates’ recommendations and order more of the planes through a budget supplement, says Jerry Drelling, a Boeing spokesman. Drelling also noted that the company is negotiating with the United Arab Emirates, which has expressed interest in buying up to four C-17s. But such an order would keep Southern California’s last major aircraft plant operating for only an additional 3 months. The mid-to-long term future of the plant next to the Long Beach Airport likely won’t be known until sometime this summer.
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Tell me again! How are we going to get out of this depression by obliterating more jobs?
Accuse me of just falling off the stupid train, but I have the same question as olivella. Can someone please educate me on how taking away more of our jobs will……help us.
I’m not taking sides in this donny brook. But I’ll note that Defense Sec. Gates has said the military doesn’t need any additional C-17s, and that buying more would simply be wasting taxpayer money. This is a no-win situation. The government needs to cut budgets. But people need jobs. How do you do both?
Just wait ’til Obama increases taxes on businesses and the wealthy. More jobs will be cut, more businesses will move out of the country, and those that stay will not have enough resources for growth. Now he’s considering giving legal status to 12 million undocumented immigrants. That’s 12 million more people to compete with in this already tight job market. That’s what happens when we elect a President with no business acumen.
OC is a wonder. They drive around in a foreign made car powered by imported oil. Sleep in a house made by an illegal alien. Watch a Korean TV on a Chinese made couch while drinking imported beer. You make supper in a microwave from India. Use the Internet on a Malaysian made Computer. Print out the PDF on a Viet Nam made printer. If you still do not understand why there are no jobs, go out and ask the guy mowing your yard why there aren’t any jobs in America. He may only have a sixth grade education and only speaks Spainish, but he knows why you don’t have a job.
Bruce: So, would you be referring to an illegal alien who drives an American-made Ford truck who watches TV programs produced in Hollywood and transmitted by satellites manufactured by American aerospace companies?
Bruce, how about the American cars that burn lots of foreign oil, and we have to spend billions of dollars on wars to invade other countries to maintain the supply of the oil, that we could have spent in our country? Then we wouldn’t have to raise the taxes of the corporation which in term keep people working. Of course, the American cars keep breaking down and the spare parts would keep lots of American union jobs.