Boeing CEO swipes Airbus, hints at more competition to keep Everett jobs
May 22, 2013, 6:13 AM | Updated: 6:36 pm
Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said Boeing is five years ahead of Airbus on composite technology, especially when it comes to the competition between the 777 and A330. (KIRO Radio Photo/File)
(KIRO Radio Photo/File)
Boeing workers in Washington are going to have to give up more to keep their jobs in the future, CEO Jim McNerney told investors Wednesday morning in South Carolina at the company’s annual conference.
McNerney said the company is in a position to get much better deals from suppliers and workers now that Everett and North Charleston are both producing airplanes.
The internal competition, as he called it, will help drive down costs. “We can choose to do things in Everett and certain things down here,” McNerney said. “The actual choice is a function of many things. It’s not just can you build it here or can you build it there. It’s a function of other costs.” A major cost difference between Everett and North Charleston is labor.
Everett is now in a competition to get the 777X and for future 787 production increases.
He once again touted the company’s good year in 2012 and encouraging results in the first quarter of 2013. He said the company is poised to continue its dominance in aerospace. McNerney also took a swipe at rival Airbus saying Boeing plans to continue distancing itself from the French airplane manufacturer.
McNerney said Boeing is five years ahead of Airbus on composite technology, especially when it comes to the competition between the 777 and A330. “They don’t have the right plane to do the derivative even if they were down the learning curve on composites, which they’re not,” he said. “We’re way ahead of them, and it’s going to be fun.”
Boeing finally beat Airbus on orders and deliveries in 2012, ending a ten year run for Boeing’s rival.
