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Hawker Beechcraft Plans Mexican Assembly Plant

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

June 25, 2008

thomas

WICHITA, Kan., June 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — In a move that will
send economic shock waves across Kansas for generations, Hawker Beechcraft
is planning to build a tip-to-tail aircraft assembly plant in Chihuahua,
Mexico. The company plans to move from manufacturing small parts to full
aircraft assembly after 2012.

The five-year plan, code named Project Pelican, is outlined in
documents http://www.ll733iam.com/projectpelican.pdf containing detailed
instructions on how the company planned to conceal the scope of the plan
from the public, the press and employees at Hawker Beechcraft’s Wichita, KS
assembly plant.

“Never mention the potential of full aircraft assembly,” is among the
covert marching orders for Hawker Beechcraft managers tasked with
purchasing land, negotiating tax breaks with the Mexican government and
hiring a workforce for as little as $3 an hour.

Instead, managers are instructed to frequently cite global competition
and the need for “additional capacity other than Wichita.”

“Hawker Beechcraft shows no recognition of the damage they do to our
economy, our industrial base or our national security when they transfer
sophisticated technology and production to countries that turn around and
compete with U.S.-based companies,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger.
“Thanks to NAFTA and other job-killing trade deals, we’re encountering this
phenomenon at every bargaining table in the aerospace industry.”

“The real story is what’s going on in Wichita,” said Hawker Beechcraft
spokesperson Andrew Broom, in an article
http://www.kansas.com/107/story/443599.html published in the Wichita Eagle.
Broom did not deny the company’s outsourcing plans.

“Never before did Hawker Beechcraft disclose their intent to build a
final assembly line in Mexico,” said IAM Aerospace Coordinator Ron
Eldridge, who is engaged in contract negotiations for 4,300 IAM members at
Hawker Beechcraft. “This is deceit on a grand scale and will be a huge
issue in the workplace and at the bargaining table.”

The IAM represents nearly 20,000 workers at Kansas aerospace and
aircraft companies, including Hawker Beechcraft, Cessna, Bombardier, Spirit
AeroSystems and Boeing. For more information about the IAM, visit
http://www.goiam.org. For additional information about Project Pelican, visit
http://www.projectpelican.blogspot.com.

SOURCE International Association of Machinists and Aerospace
Workers

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