Amid the almost unprecedented upcoming demand for flight test resources, Boeing plans to reduce its flight test unit by 200-300.
The cuts will impact the Flight Operations Test and Validation Team responsible for for laboratory and flight test operations, in support of validation and certification of Boeing commercial and defense products.
The reduction is part the the 4,500 cuts already announced by the company’s commercial airplane unit, 10,000 company-wide.
Boeing announced the planned layoffs internally this summer, but the company says that 60-day layoff notices have yet to be distributed to the flight test unit.
Boeing says it is closely managing the reduction to avoid any disruption to the flight test schedules for the 747-8 or 787 programs, but emphasizes that it does not expect any disruption occur. The company says it will primarily focus the reductions on the overhead functions of the business, with the intent to limit staff cuts working directly with the aircraft.
The 200-300 cuts will come from the FOT&V team which currently employs 3,500 engineers, pilots, mechanics, and technicians, according to Boeing.
On December 18th, the FOT&V unit, formerly responsible for BCA flight test operations, will be consolidated into a single unit that will combine both commercial and defense flight testing into Test & Evaluations, which is part of Boeing’s Engineering, Operations & Technology (EO&T) organization. The Test & Evaluations organization will employ roughly 8,000 following the consolidation.
In an October 8th message to 747-8 program employees, Dennis O’Donoghue, vice president of Boeing test & evaluation and Mo Yahyavi, 747 vice-president and general manager, de-coupled the 787 and 747-8 flight test programs citing the lack of available capacity at the company’s Puget Sound airport locations to support the concurrent certification programs.
As a result, the 747-8 will conduct initial airworthiness testing at Moses Lake, Washington and then move to Palmdale, California for the remainder of the flight test program. The company adds that the of planning simultaneous flight test programs for the Boeing 787 and 747-8 has not caused the company to reconsider the decision to reduce FOT&V staffing.
Boeing has not run large-scale concurrent commercial flight test programs since 1982 when the 767 and 757 were being certified.
Boeing revamped its flight test methodology in 2008 to consolidate independent ad hoc units assigned to individual test aircraft to more effectively manage maintenance and support operations. The changes were initiated to support the flight test program for the 787, but was first put into operation in July 2008 with the 777F certification campaign.
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This post originally appeared at Flightglobal.com from 2007 to 2012.