Douglas Will Cut 1,500 More Jobs

Citing continuing reduced demand for both its commercial and military aircraft, McDonnell Douglas Corp. said Friday that it will lay off another 1,500 Douglas Aircraft Co. workers, including more than 1,000 at its Long Beach and Torrance facilities.

The layoffs, which will be effective early next year, will bring the number of workers furloughed from Douglas’ Southern California aircraft plants to nearly 9,000 in the last 18 months.

Douglas employs about 34,500 workers at its headquarters in Long Beach and about 4,000 at its Torrance plant. Affected employees will be notified of the cuts individually this month and next.

The layoff announcement came after the company concluded long and bitter negotiations with its major labor union over a new contract. Douglas also confirmed this week that it will divide itself into separate commercial and military divisions by the end of the year. The split is seen as preparation for selling a stake of its commercial aircraft operations to an outside investor to raise much-needed cash.

A company representative said Friday that the latest round of layoffs will affect all three of Douglas’ major aircraft production programs: the MD-80 twin jet, the MD-11 tri-jet and the C-17 military transport. The spokesman said airline company orders for the MD-80 and MD-11 have been cancelled in recent months and options for purchases of both craft have been dropped.

“The market demand for commercial aircraft has been down and will probably continue to be,” the spokesman said. “We’re having to adjust to that.”

The C-17 military transport construction program will not proceed as expected because Air Force funding for the project has been cut.

According to some analysts’ estimates, McDonnell Douglas will need about $4 billion to develop its next-generation commercial craft, the MD-12, a stretched version of the MD-11 that is expected to serve long-haul routes between the United States and Asia. The company has decided already that it will not build the MD-12 in Long Beach. It is seeking financial incentives from nine communities bidding to be the manufacturing site for the new plane.