McDonnell Hands Californian an Ax : Aerospace: Kenneth Francis is one of five named to new office of the chairman. He’ll help decide where painful cuts must be made.

McDonnell Douglas employees on the West Coast will be watching Kenneth A. Francis from afar during the coming months.

One of five executives appointed Monday to a newly created office of the chairman for McDonnell Douglas Corp., the Anaheim Hills resident is likely to be a key figure in identifying where the next painful job cuts will come.

“There will be some (cutbacks), but not in the thousands,” Francis said in a telephone interview. “We will be looking at what areas we need to focus upon and what support our operations need. There is no area that is sacred.”

The company announced Monday that it will trim duplicate jobs where possible in the next three months, beginning with a proposed 1993 closure of a C-17 parts manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio. Some of that work could be transferred to other plants, including Huntington Beach, Francis said.

Francis, 58, president of McDonnell Douglas Space Systems Co. in Huntington Beach, now becomes an executive vice president in charge of one of two aerospace business groups for the St. Louis-based corporation.

His responsibilities include oversight of Space Systems, which employs 6,000 people on rocket and space station programs in Huntington Beach.

Francis will also oversee McDonnell Douglas Electronic Systems, the C-17 military cargo plane program, and other military work done by Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach.

Analysts say they are not familiar with Francis, except that his division has been relatively free of the unpleasant earnings surprises that have plagued other McDonnell Douglas operations.

John Simon, an analyst at Seidler Amdec, a Los Angeles securities firm, said Francis’ appointment could bode well for the Huntington Beach facility. “Francis won the job for the West Coast operation and that shouldn’t be bad for Huntington Beach, because he is familiar with the operation and might be more likely to keep his people on board.”

Simon said the Huntington Beach unit faces difficult challenges because of foreign competition in its commercial rocket-launch business and the uncertain fate of the proposed space station Freedom, which has run into political opposition in Congress because of its $30-billion price tag.

Lawrence Harris, analyst with Kemper Securities Group in Chicago, noted that Space Systems has consistently contributed to McDonnell’s earnings over the years. The company’s missiles, space and electronic systems group reported revenue of $1.52 billion for the six months ended June 30, compared to $1.58 billion a year earlier. Operating earnings for the group declined 3% to $99 million for the six months, compared to $102 million a year earlier.