By Allison Lampert
(Reuters) - Striking workers' rejection of planemaker Boeing's latest contract offer has created a fresh threat to operations at aerospace suppliers such as family-run Independent Forge.
If the strike by more than 33,000 U.S. Boeing workers persists another month, the Orange County, California supplier might need to cut its operations from five to three days a week to save money and retain workers, president Andrew Flores said.
While Independent laid off a few employees already, letting more go is not an appealing option, he said. The 22 workers who remain are critical for the company, especially when the strike eventually ends and demand for its aluminum aircraft parts rebounds.
"They are the backbone of our shop," Flores said this week. "Their knowledge, I can't replace that."
Wednesday's vote by 64% of Boeing's West Coast factory workers against the company's latest contract offer, further idling assembly for nearly all of the planemaker's commercial jets, has created a fresh test for suppliers such as Independent, which opened in 1975.
Boeing's vast global network of suppliers that produce parts from sprawling modern factories or tiny garage workshops, was already stressed by the company's quality-and-safety crisis, which began in January after a mid-air panel blow-out on a new 737 MAX.
Demand for parts has dropped, hitting suppliers after they spent heavily to meet renewed demand for planes in the post-pandemic era.
How small suppliers such as Independent navigate the strike, which began on Sept. 13, is expected to affect Boeing's future ability to bring its plane production back online.
MORE JOB CUTS?
Five Boeing suppliers interviewed by Reuters this week said continuation of the strike would cause them to furlough workers, freeze investment, or consider halting production.
Boeing declined comment.
Seattle-area supplier Pathfinder, which runs a project to attract young recruits to aerospace and trains them alongside its skilled workers, will likely need to lay off more employees, CEO Dave Trader said.
Pathfinder, which let go one-quarter of its 54 workers last month, will also need to send more of its aerospace students back to their high schools, instead of training them in the company's factories, Trader said.
Suppliers on a regular call on Thursday with Boeing supply-chain executives said they expect the strike will continue for weeks, one participant told Reuters.
About 60% of the 2.21 million Americans who work in the aerospace industry have jobs directly linked to the supply chain, according to the U.S. industry group Aerospace Industries Association.