AEROSPACE : Douglas Moves Work Out of Long Beach : Aerospace: Some assembly tasks are shifted to Mojave subcontractor after problems on MD-11 production line. Hundreds of jobs may be affected.
McDonnell Douglas is moving some final assembly work on its MD-11 jetliner program--along with perhaps several hundred jobs--from Long Beach to a small Mojave subcontractor, government and industry sources said Thursday.
The move was prompted by problems at McDonnell’s troubled Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach, which has fallen behind schedule on deliveries of MD-11s, McDonnell’s vice president for MD-11 production said in an internal memo.
United Auto Workers leaders contend that McDonnell is trying to use non-union labor at Aerotest in violation of the Douglas-UAW contract. Officials at UAW Local 148, which represents McDonnell workers, say that up to 350 jobs may be at stake. Douglas is already laying off thousands in Long Beach because business is bad.
The subcontractor, Aerotest Inc., modifies and maintains commercial aircraft at a facility at Mojave Airport, where it also has one of the nation’s largest commercial-aircraft storage lots. Until now, it has not been an aircraft manufacturer.
McDonnell asked the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to let Aerotest operate under an extension of McDonnell’s government-issued commercial aircraft production certificate, FAA spokesman Dave Duff said Thursday.
An FAA audit team two weeks ago, however, found several areas in Aerotest’s operations that needed improvement to meet FAA requirements, Duff said. Those concerns may be resolved as early as this month, he added.
McDonnell turned to Aerotest to help straighten out production problems on its MD-11 assembly line in Long Beach, according to a May 28 memo written by Buzz Lowry, the MD-11 vice president.
“If we continue to slip one delivery commitment after another, we severely impact our customers’ plans,” Lowery wrote. “They are understandably upset.”
McDonnell scheduled massive overtime and recalled laid-off mechanics to speed up deliveries, Lowry’s memo said, but the company still couldn’t meet production deadlines. The recent riots also caused a slip in production schedules, the memo said.
“A major improvement can be achieved immediately by taking some aircraft out of the ramp flow in Long Beach and completing them in Mojave,” Lowry wrote.
Aerotest, which already has begun doing some work on MD-11s, will be installing interior equipment, repairing items that were originally done incorrectly and conducting tests on the aircraft.
A McDonnell spokesman declined to comment, and it’s unclear how much work will be moved. But assuming the FAA agrees, McDonnell will send at least nine future MD-11s to Mojave for completion, said Kedrick Legg, a union steward representing Douglas workers on the flight ramp. But as many as 40 future MD-11s may be sent to Mojave, Legg said. Other union officials said about two aircraft per month will be sent to Aerotest for completion.
“We are not happy at all,” said Carl Fees, assistant to Local 148’s president. “This is a major issue that came up at a recent meeting (at McDonnell headquarters) in St. Louis between top company officials and our union representatives.”
“Douglas is moving out of here as systematically as it can,” Legg said. “They are trying to keep it low profile.”
Company officials have consistently denied that they plan to close the Long Beach plant.
