Proposal Raises Job Hopes in Long Beach

Despite fears of further job losses, local officials expressed hope Friday that plans by McDonnell Douglas Corp. to sell 40% of its commercial aircraft business to Asian investors could bolster the company and safeguard the future of its Long Beach plant.

“The main thing is that they (McDonnell Douglas officials) are hurting for cash, and if they can find a partner with excess cash, it’d be helpful,” said Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell. “I don’t see anything frightening about it.”

McDonnell Douglas is negotiating a sale of 40% of its commercial aircraft operation in Long Beach to Taiwan Aerospace, a government-backed venture, among other Asian firms. From Southern California to Capitol Hill, concerns have been raised that the transaction would shift jobs and critical technology overseas.

But in Long Beach, many officials voiced optimism that the proposed deal would reverse McDonnell Douglas’ slide. The slumping company has cut thousands of jobs recently. Current employment in Long Beach is 34,500, down from more than 42,000 in the spring of 1990.

“It might mean we have a future,” said Floyd Sparks, benefits representative for UAW Local 148, which represents 19,500 workers at the 50-year-old Long Beach plant.

Sparks faulted McDonnell Douglas’ management for the company’s decline and expressed hope that the Taiwanese investors would install some of their own executives.

Still, Sparks conceded that many UAW members are fearful that McDonnell Douglas and its new partner could move some current production overseas to take advantage of lower labor costs.

“During the last 18 months, 6,000 jobs have been transferred to other parts of the country and to other countries, and they see this as meaning that more of their jobs could be leaving here and going elsewhere,” Sparks said.

Under production at the company’s Douglas Aircraft Co. unit in Long Beach are the MD-80 and MD-11 commercial jetliners, along with the C-17 military transport aircraft. Under development are the MD-90 and the MD-12, a 375-seat jet.

Officials also expressed concern about the ripple effects of further job cuts at the Douglas plant. The company is by far the largest employer in Long Beach.