Boeing officials announced plans Monday to consolidate the majority of Delta rocket production into the company’s facilities in Pueblo, Colo., and
Decatur, Ala.

The plan is a continuation of the Boeing facilities announcement
made in March 1998 and will maximize the use of existing Delta
facilities, which are currently 80 percent underutilized. Other
contributing factors are the downturn in the global launch services
market, which reduced Delta production by 50 percent since January
1999, and Boeing transitioning C-17 work out of the Huntington Beach
facility.

Over the next two years approximately 600 production jobs will be
eliminated in manufacturing, half the reductions associated with C-17
manufacturing and half associated with the Delta realignment. In
addition up to 300 positions will be eliminated in associated support
functions.

“In order to strategically realign our Delta production, we needed
to consolidate operations and reduce manufacturing duplication,” said
Gale Schluter, Boeing Expendable Launch Systems (ELS) vice president
and general manager. “By placing like work together in Decatur and
Pueblo, Boeing will become more efficient and competitive in the
global, launch-services market.”

The transition of work from Huntington Beach and Pueblo will begin
in the third quarter of this year. By the second quarter of 2002
Boeing will reduce its owned and leased Huntington Beach facilities by
606,995 square feet.

Delta manufacturing will be allocated as follows:

Delta manufacturing to remain in Huntington Beach:

  • Delta 2 stainless steel second-stage tank manufacturing
  • Delta 2 hydraulics
  • Metal Delta 4 and Titan 4 fairing manufacturing
  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 composites
  • Electronic modification and rework
  • Delta development

Delta manufacturing moving from Huntington Beach to Pueblo:

  • Delta 2 payload attach assemblies (PAA)
  • Delta 2 blankets and wire harnesses
  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 tubing/welded ducts
  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 subassembly work

Delta manufacturing moving from Huntington Beach to Decatur:

  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 skin machining, processing and forming
  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 ring manufacturing
  • Delta 2 and Delta 3 center bodies, engine frames, aft skirts,
    equipment shelves, socketrons and thrustbeams
  • Delta 2 first-stage tank assembly
  • Delta 4 tubing/welded ducts

Delta manufacturing moving from Pueblo to Decatur:

  • Delta 3 and Delta 4 fairings
  • Delta 4 blankets and wire harnesses
  • Delta 4 upper-stage assembly

There is no immediate increase in employment expected at either
Pueblo or Decatur as a result of this realignment.

In discussions with employees, Rich Noviello, Boeing
director of operations, committed to provide the people affected by
the announcement with continuous information on the company’s plan.
Boeing will also provide employees with transition services to help
them identify other employment opportunities within the company and
the local community.

“We are continuing to evolve our technology, laboratory and
development activities here in Huntington Beach, which is in keeping
with plans to evolve this facility into one of the company’s premiere
Program Management Centers (PMC),” Schluter said.

As a PMC the facility will have management responsibilities for
all Expendable Launch Systems and Reusable Space Systems programs,
along with the associated supplier management, program marketing and
research and development activities.