Boeing supplier announces three day week

One of BoeingÔÇÖs key suppliers, Spirit AeroSystems, has already reacted to the strike action by 27,000 assembly workers by announcing a reduction in working hours.  ┬á Spirit makes wing components, fuselage sections, engine pylons and nose sections for Boeing commercial aircraft, employing over 2000 people in Tulsa and McAlester, Oklahoma, and 10,900 in Wichita, Kansas. Many of these will be on a three day week for the duration of the strike.┬á┬á "We are working closely with our customer and taking the necessary steps as we respond to an unfortunate situation," said Spirit President and CEO Jeff Turner in a letter to employees. Referring to the 2005 strike, Turner said Spirit had found that the shortened work week ago was preferable to halting production and laying off workers. ┬á┬á "Our experience shows this approach is a prudent solution for all stakeholders," he said. "Today, Spirit is a financially stronger and a more diversified company than we were in 2005. As such, we will continue our normal efforts on certain Boeing products as well as products for new customers, including Airbus, Cessna, Gulfstream, Rolls-Royce, Hawker Beechcraft and Sikorsky." ┬á┬á Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) stopped work at Boeing at midnight Saturday, after failing to reach agreement with the company on a new three year pay and benefits package, and issues over BoeingÔÇÖs use of outsourcing and non-union labor.┬á┬á How long the strike will last is unpredictable, but on the basis of previous history, customers, suppliers and the local community in Seattle are bracing themselves for a lengthy period of disruption.  This is the fourth strike by the IAM at Boeing in the last 20 years. A walkout in 1989 lasted 48 days, and a second in 1995 went on for 69 days. The most recent stoppage in 2005 lasted for 28 days. ┬á┬á The action could cost Boeing $100 million a day in revenue, and with Boeing being one of the countryÔÇÖs top industrial exporters by dollar value, analysts are concerned that a strike of three to four months could adversely affect US trade figures at a time when exports have been one of the few encouraging indicators.  ┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á