Boeing’s practice of aggressively pressuring suppliers on costs has damaged its own supply chain, contributing to the aviation giant’s current woes, a top union negotiator told AFP this week.
“Boeing has spent a long time, since 2012 trying to squeeze the supply chain by forcing them to cut their costs to Boeing, year over year,” said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) for District 751.
“I’m fine with efficiency,” Holden said. “What I’m not okay with is undermining the health of the manufacturing process.”
Holden’s local chapter in Seattle represents 32,000 workers, with some 30,000 at Boeing. The union hopes for significant gains from the new contract after negotiations kicked off in March.
“Boeing went through an effort to sell off different factories, to reduce their net assets, and those factories are now part of the supply chain,” Holden told AFP in an interview, adding such moves contributed to the storied manufacturer’s current woes.