Boeing's history, corporate structure, and employment opportunities

Boeing is considered the leader in commercial aircraft, military aircraft and missiles and space markets. As well as the design, development and manufacture of aircraft and space equipment, Boeing also has divisions managing the support of these activities and other activities that extend to real estate services, financial services and travel agency services.

Boeing has a well-developed graduate program and the benefits for employees are numerous. While financial information up to 2000 suggests that Boeing is growing, it should also be noted that since September 11, a downturn in the commercial airline industry has impacted Boeing. As a result of this 30,000 jobs are expected to be lost. To counter this Boeing expects growth in the defense area and Boeing is also moving to adapt to the changed environment, such as by focusing on the renewed interest in commercial flight safety.

While layoffs are taking place there are still numerous varied work opportunities with Boeing. A search of their employment opportunities facility showing over 600 positions currently available.

This report will detail Boeing, providing information that will be of use to a potential employee.

This will cover corporate and financial information, the history of Boeing and key departments. It will also detail the benefits available to employees of Boeing and also focus on graduate opportunities and how to contact Boeing about opportunities. It will also cover the key principles Boeing operates by, with this information intended to assist the potential employee in knowing what characteristics they look for. Finally, we will look at some recent news articles and what these tell us about the future with Boeing in relation to employment.

CORPORATE INFORMATION

Headquarters

Boeing World Headquarters is located in Chicago, Illinois.

Key Personnel

Phil Condit, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

Phil Condit became Chief Executive Officer in 1996 and was elected Chairman in 1997, after 35 years with Boeing in various divisions.

Harry Stonecipher, Vice Chairman

Harry Stonecipher was elected vice chairman in May 2001 and previously served as president and chief operating officer from August 1997.

HISTORY

Boeing was founded by William Edward Boeing in the early 1900's. The Wright Brothers made their first flight in 1903, the event that led William Boeing to consider the possibilities of air travel. William Boeing and a Navy engineer names George Conrad Westervelt began designing a new aircraft, it was named B&W and they began building it in a boathouse. Westervelt left the project and Boeing completed the plane in 1916. On July 15, 1916, Boeing incorporated his airplane manufacturing business as Pacific Aero Products Company. A year later, he changed the name to the Boeing Airplane Company. In 1917, during World War I, Boeing knew the Navy needed training airplanes and provided them with two. The Navy were impressed by the planes and ordered 50 more. The Boeing company now consisted of 337 people. By the end of the 1920's Boeing had designed planes for mail and for passengers. After the depression, antitrust legislation meant that Boeing had to be broken up into three divisions. United Air Lines was responsible for air transportation, United Aircraft was responsible for manufacturing operations in the eastern United State and the Boeing Airplane Company was responsible for manufacturing operations in the West. At this stage William Boeing retired and Boeing Aircraft was taken over by Claire Egtvedt. The company changed direction and began to focus on large passenger airplanes and bombers. In the 60's Boeing also used its experience to create guided missile systems and space vehicles and was also heavily involved in the Apollo missions and the moon landing. In the 70's commercial jetliners became the focus, especially the 707. Recession hit the industry in the early 70's and to counter this Boeing began to expand beyond airliners, expansion included projects as broad as computer systems, irrigation systems and wind turbines. After the 80's the recession eased and Boeing returned to concentrating on commercial airliners and military aircraft. This leads us to the current day where Boeing employs 187,000 people, serves customers in 145 countries and is the leader in commercial aircraft, military aircraft and missiles, and space markets.

COMPANY GROWTH AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Financial figures for the five-year period from 1996 to 2000 show both sales revenue and net income generally increasing, though with deviation from the trend in some years. Liabilities also appear to be generally decreasing while employee costs are decreasing.

Year Sales Revenue* Net Income* Liability* Employee Costs*

1996 35453 1818 7489 211

1997 45800 (178) 6854 238

1998 56154 1120 6972 231

1999 57993 2309 6732 197

2000 51321 2128 6799 198

*Dollars in millions

Table 1: Boeing Five-Year Financial Figures. (Source: Boeing Financial Report 2000)

TRAINING PROGRAMS

Boeing values training and supplies various educational programs. This includes training vital to your job, career advancement skills and the completion of degrees. Boeing provides:

Learning centers - offers over 3000 courses on job skills and personal development.

Off-Hour training - courses are available in categories such as aviation, CATIA, communications, computing, engineering, industrial, math, production, and retirement planning and these courses are available at no cost.

On-The-Job/Familiarization Training - training provide to meet the need of your job.

Learning Together Program - program that offer tuition reimbursement and payment of learning expenses. Employees who complete degrees are also eligible for Boeing stock awards.

EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS

Benefits for Boeing employees are comprehensive and include:

Vacation and holiday time.

Health Care, Disability & Life Insurance, and Reimbursement Account Plans - Boeing offers a choice of medical plans for its employees, as well as various insurances.

Voluntary Investment Plan - Boeing offers a 401(k) savings plan with employees choice of the amount of contribution and 11 investment funds to choose from.

Pension Plan - the pension plan is fully paid for by Boeing and works in combination with savings plans.

Credit Unions - Boeing has various credit unions available to employees in various locations. Includes Aerospace Community Credit Union, Boeing Employees Credit Union, Hughes Aircraft Employees Federal Credit Union, McDonnell Douglas West Federal Credit Union and Rockwell Federal Credit Union.

Recreation - Boeing has an off-hour recreation program that includes activities at company locations and at other clubs. Boeing also provides discount packages for various recreation activities including cultural events, theme parks and accommodation.

Health and Fitness - Boeing provides health and fitness centers at over 20 Boeing sites.

Family Care - Boeing offers a support and referral service for those in need of family support services.

Employee Assistance Program - this program offers support services for personal problems. Counseling and referral services are provided.

Commuting Assistance Program - Boeing offers financial assistance to encourage employees to use a bus or van pool.

GRADUATE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Boeing has a well-developed graduate opportunity program with opportunities in all fields.

Boeing lists career options in the following categories: aeronautical and astronautical engineering; chemical engineering and chemistry; civil engineering; electrical and electronics engineering; industrial engineering; mathematics and statistics; mechanical engineering; metallurgical engineering; physics; psychology, physiology, biology, medicine; business administration, economic, law, marketing.

As can be seen, there are opportunities for almost every type of graduate, though there is a major focus on engineering graduates.

Boeing looks for employees with an understanding of their discipline and also with teamwork skills, the ability to think critically and creatively, the ability to work independently and cooperatively. Boeing also looks for people who are able to adapt to change, have a desire for lifelong learning, have high ethical standards and excellent communication skills.

OTHER EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

As well as graduate opportunities in the engineering area Boeing offers employment in many other areas. At their world headquarters they ask for employees in the legal, finance, human resources and communications areas. At their other departments they ask for a range of employees.

CONTACTING BOEING ABOUT EMPLOYMENT

To contact Boeing about internship and graduate opportunities a system is in place to receive graduate resumes. These are preferred to be received online and this can be completed by opening a resume account at the following web site,

There is also a job search function at this site which can be used to search by either Boeing site or work category. This service then lists all current available positions. Currently, Boeing has over 600 available positions listed. There is also the option of setting up automated job searches so you can be contacted by e-mail when suitable positions arise.

BOEING CORE PRINCIPLES

It is also beneficial for potential employees to be aware of the core principles Boeing operates upon. This list of principles helps define what Boeing would look for in an employee.

Boeing's core competencies are:

Detailed customer knowledge and focus.

Large scale systems integration

Lean enterprise - efficient use of all assets.

The values that Boeing is committed to are:

Leadership

Integrity

Quality

Customer satisfaction

People working together

A diverse and involved team

Good corporate citizenship

Enhanced shareholder value

BOEING IN THE NEWS

One of the concerns with Boeing is how the general downturn in the commercial flight industry, after the September 11 incident, may affect it. However an article in the Chicago Tribune (Diamond) reports that this downturn will be offset by a growth in the defense sector. The article also reports that 30,000 layoffs are expected at Boeing and that employment growth will be in the defense sector.

In response also to the September 11 incident, Boeing has in increased focus on air safety. A press release in October 2001 described an agreement with El Al Israel Airlines which will study the feasibility of creating a joint venture to establish a world-class security and safety business for airlines, airports and governments worldwide. (Boeing News Release Page)

Further evidence of the worldwide decline in the commercial flight industry was shown in a report by CNN. The report shows that details how Singapore Airlines has deferred the delivery due to a slowdown in the global airline industry. (CNN)

As can be seen employment opportunities are expected to grow in the various other units of Boeing, especially the defense units but opportunities in the commercial area are likely to decrease.