Orange County Register

Boeing deal would extend jobs for 1,500 O.C. workers

June 13th, 2009, 6:00 am · 9 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor

The C-17 Globemaster III is the last large military aircraft manufactured in Southern California. Image courtesy of U.S. Air Force

There are new signs that Congress might order an additional eight C-17 transport aircraft from Boeing, securing the jobs of roughly 5,000 workers at the company’s Long Beach plant. About 1,500 of those workers live in Orange County.

The House-Senate Committee on Appropriations has included funding for the aircraft in a 2009 supplemental budget, despite calls by Defense Secretary Robert Gates for the Air Force to stop ordering the cargo plane. Gates says additional C-17s aren’t needed, but Southern California lawmakers have come under pressure to keep the large plant in business.

Boeing said earlier this year that it had aircraft orders that would keep the plant operating through late 2010, though it has changed that date to January 2011, a date influenced by orders from foreign customers.

Jerry Drelling, a Boeing spokesman, said by e-mail that, “Based on current orders as of today, and at the current production rate, Boeing will deliver the final C-17 in January, 2011. An additional eight C-17s for the U.S. Air Force would certainly extend the line … but because of pending international orders it’s difficult to say when the final C-17 would be delivered. Again, without a health production line for the U.S. Air Force, we are unable to maintain an affordable line for potential international customers.

“We are on contract with the U.S Air Force for 205 C-17s. To date, we’ve delivered 188 to the USAF and 14 internationally. We are delivering three C-17s to the NATO-led Strategic Airlift Capability and two to Qatar this year. We’re also in negotiations with the United Arab Emirates for four C-17s.”

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Posted in: Ain't that interesting? • Boeing Co. • Boeing • C-17 aircraft • USAF
 

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 9 Comments

• Chilly Willie says:

  June 13, 2009 at 6:27 am

  That is a cool caption picture!
  • Gary Robbins, science writer-editor says:

    June 13, 2009 at 6:40 am

    Agree with you there. I’m sort of a plane geek, and I love that image.
    • homer92630 says:

      June 13, 2009 at 8:30 am

      True. But I still prefer real pictures over illustrations.
      This one is an illustration that they created back when the C-17 was first introduced.
      • Sed says:

        June 15, 2009 at 1:48 am

        Actually it is a real picture. McChord and Charleston go back and forth on seeing who can launch the most at one time (good practice for a surge). That’s McChord here is Charlestons with the new bridge. (Ck Link)
• DAC says:

  June 13, 2009 at 9:22 am

  Extend the jobs? Nope. They will keep laying off the people and who is left will have to do more to keep the cost of the planes downs so the cost is where is needs to be and Boeing will still make a nice profit. It is not like this will allow Boeing to stop the layoffs for another 8 months.
• Josh says:

  June 13, 2009 at 10:15 am

  How about all the people who said that the recent and much-maligned image of Air Force One flying near the Statue of Liberty could/should have been done with Photoshop? Yeah, it would have saved money, but how much fake stuff do we need in our lives? “Here’s a picture of Air Force One pasted next to [you name it]!”
• gdb says:

  June 13, 2009 at 11:04 am

  wait, so we have to blow money we don’t have, for planes we don’t need, so that the people at this plant don’t lose their jobs in 2011? i think even the government can waste our money a bit more efficiently on something else.
• TheAllKnowing says:

  June 13, 2009 at 12:50 pm

  “Securing jobs”???? “Securing welfare recipients” is more like it. These “job” are not needed as with the planes being built are not needed. Just more of our tax dollars being spent supporting fraud and abuse.
• DAC says:

  June 13, 2009 at 9:22 pm

  Well the planes are needed and are being used significantly more than planned and being flown a lot harder than anticipated which put more stress on the airframe and will shorten their life quicker and retire them sooner. But an airlifter is not as sexy a weapon as opposed to a fighter, high tech bomber, etc. and so they are less on the priority of the USAF. These are the same planes they used for humanitarian relief missions as well as to get supplies/troops to the front line. No other aircraft in the world has the capabilities of the C-17 and no other aircraft can compete with it. But once they stop making them, the will be no more and the replacement will be 3X the current cost.