EVERETT, WA——More than 1,800 union members will soon leave Boeing under a buyout plan offered last month, the first step in a continuing company job-cutting effort that’s expected to include layoffs later this year. The machinists union said 1,500 of its members applied for a buyout and were approved to leave the company. The engineering union said 305 of its members were approved and are expected to leave the company in April.
PANAMA CITY, FL—GKN Aerospace is planning to invest approximately $50 million to build a new assembly plant here. The factory is expected to create 170 new jobs.
CLEMSON, SC—Researchers at Clemson University and Carnegie Mellon University are collaborating to develop next-generation robots for advanced manufacturing across the automotive, aerospace, electronics and textile industries. Clemson will also help train the workers who will operate the robots, as part of a $253 million plan to fill roughly 510,000 jobs in manufacturing by 2025.
Mississippi has a robust manufacturing sector that includes world-class companies such as Airbus Helicopters, GE Aviation, Ingalls Shipbuilding, Nissan, Northrop Grumman, Toyota and Viking Range. It’s also home to a world-class organization at the University of Mississippi.
Whenever anyone mentions hybrid-electric vehicles today, most people automatically think of cars, buses and trucks. But, up in the sky, the technology is also getting a lot of attention from aerospace engineers. That’s because electric systems are greener, lighter, quieter and more energy-efficient than traditional alternatives.
The need to reduce vehicle weight has spawned myriad new technologies for assembling aluminum, high-strength steel and other materials. These new technologies include self-piercing rivets, flow-drilling screws and friction-stir spot welding.
WICHITA, KS—Spirit AeroSystems is spending $20 million to expand its manufacturing facility here, which makes composite subassemblies for the Boeing 787.
EVERETT, WA—Boeing’s 777X Composite Wing Center here marks a significant step toward a future in which much of an aircraft assembly plant’s work is done by automated machines and robots.
SEATTLE—Boeing is looking on the bright side after the World Trade Organization ruled that the aircraft manufacturer illegally benefitted from subsidies from Washington state. Boeing said the decision was a victory in that the WTO rejected all but one of the claims from the European Union saying the incentives were anti-competitive and unfair to rival Airbus.