The Employee Retention System of Boeing Company Essay Example

new federal antitrust guidelines five years later, the manufacturing and transportation divisions of the company were dissolved. As a result, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney, and United Air Lines became independent companies (Microsoft Encarta, n.d). Boeing During the Second World War When the United States entered the Second World War, Boeing began manufacturing hundreds of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers. During the war, it was the most important bomber for the United States. In March 1944, the production of the bomber reached high gear with the manufacture of 362 B-17 Bombers in the company’s Seattle plant.

Likewise, it manufactured B-29s. In fact, the Enola Gay, the plane that bombed Hiroshima, was an example of this type of aircraft. In 1952, Boeing manufactured the B-52 Stratofortress Bomber (Microsoft Encarta, n. d). Production of Commercial Jets Boeing’s production of commercial aircraft commenced during the early 1950s in response to the acclaimed propeller-driven planes of the Douglas Aircraft Company.

The B-707 made its first flight in 1958. It was to set the standard for the company’s line of commercial aircraft namely the 727, 737, and 747. From being called the Boeing Airline Company it changed its name to Boeing Company as a reflection of its venture beyond manufacturing aircraft (Microsoft Encarta, n. d). In January 1970, the pioneer “wide-body” jumbo jet the Boeing 747 was launched by the company.

It has a seating capacity of 490 passengers. While it established itself as the leading transcontinental plane in the world, its manufacture nearly drained the coffers of Boeing. In the early part of the 1970s, sixty percent of its labor force was without jobs. The influx of fresh orders for commercial and

military planes was responsible for its financial recovery.

The much smaller 737 eventually became the top-selling passenger plane (Microsoft Encarta, n. d). Boeing Company At Present During the 1990s, Boeing faced stiff competition from Airbus Industries. At the same time, there was an extended slump in the airline industry. Once again, Boeing was forced to implement a mass layoff for 25 percent of its employees. In 1995, the company faced a massive workers strike which cost Boeing billions of dollars. At that same year, the Boeing 777 took flight. This was the first jet designed and modeled on computers.

Once again, it enabled Boeing to receive a fresh set of orders (Microsoft Encarta, n.d). Being the main supplier of the National Aeronautics Administration (NASA), the company has been supplying advanced electronics, rocket boosters, and components to the International Space Station. Its acquisition of Rockwell International Corporation’s defense and aerospace divisions for $3.2 billion in 1996 paved the way for contracts for the manufacture of NASA’s space shuttle orbiters and liquid-fuel main engines (Microsoft Encarta, n. d). In 1997, it merged with McDonnell Douglas Corporation but this event was followed by a string of setbacks.

With a high amount of orders, Boeing experienced a shortage of parts and labor. It was forced to close its 737 and 747 for one month. At the end of the year, it went through its first financial loss since 1947 (Microsoft Encarta, n. d). In 2007, Boeing launched the 787 Dreamliner. This plane was manufactured from composite material rather than aluminum. Because of this, it was dubbed the ‘first plastic jet.” Because of its composition, the 787 can carry

more passengers with lesser fuel than the conventional aluminum plane (Microsoft Encarta, n. d).