波音新CEO的艰难抉择

    供与需

    提高737和787的产能，也会给波音的供应商和制造工人带来更大的压力——波音与他们的关系本就十分紧张。过去10年里，波音一直被指责对其制造工人和供应商进行不当施压，以降低成本，并减少787“梦想飞机”研发项目造成的损失。

    不管在这些事上谁对谁错，如果波音想成功地提高产能或推出新的机型，麦伦堡就必须解决好波音与工人和供应商的紧张关系。

    鉴于订单任务如此沉重，一旦波音与供应商或自己的制造工人有任何龃龉，都有可能发酵成大问题。另外，一些其它意外情况也可能发展成需要大量资金去搞定的问题，比如零部件质量下滑，777X或757替代机型的某个子系统出现意料之外的问题，抑或是一些老问题再度浮现（比如曾困扰过早期787机型的电池问题）。

    捍卫军用飞机部门

    波音生产的许多经典军用飞机已接近服役期晚年，比如美国海军的F/A-18“超级大黄蜂”和C-17运输机等等。现在，一些旧的军用飞机生产线即将关闭，而波音尚未敲定新的业务去取代它们。现在看来，美国空军抛出的550亿美元远程轰炸机大单，可能是未来几年内波音唯一能把握住的五角大楼大型军用飞机项目了。

    随着波音在军用飞机市场的地位日渐不保，其军用飞机部门或许将不得不进行重大的结构改革，特别是如果波音在此次轰炸机项目中败给竞争对手诺斯罗普格鲁曼公司的话。为了维系它在国防行业的地位，波音还可能会通过收购来谋求新的生产合同。

    据报道，一旦联合科技公司在今年彻底剥离旗下的西科斯基飞机公司，波音很有可能会斥资100亿美元收购这家直升机制造企业。另外，如果波音真的在远程轰炸机项目中败给诺斯洛普格鲁曼公司，波音要想止损也不难，它只要直接把后者收购过来就可以了，毕竟这家公司要比它小得多。

    不管波音打算怎样复兴它的军用飞机部门，至少它都得做些什么。随着新型远程轰炸机的竞标将在几周内截止，麦伦堡上任的第一个决策，可能就是要决定该怎么花钱，而不是怎么赚钱。

    谈到麦伦堡需要应对军用飞机部门问题时，阿波拉弗亚表示：“有很多经典平台都在走下坡路，所以你可以采取行动延长它们的寿命，也可以推动出口，或者你也可以考虑收购。在他的行动计划上，收购可能排在比较靠前的位置。”（财富中文网）

    译者：朴成奎

    审校：任文科

    Supply and demand

    Ramping up production on the 737 and 787 will also put increased strain on Boeing’s suppliers and manufacturing workforce, with whom relations are already frayed. Over the past decade, Boeing has been accused of leaning unfairly on its manufacturing employees and contractors as well as its suppliers in an effort to trim costs and make up for losses associated with the 787 Dreamliner development program.

    Regardless of perceived rightness and wrongness in those cases, how Muilenburg chooses to address those workforce and supplier tensions is extremely important if Boeing is going to successfully ramp up production and potentially launch a new aircraft model.

    Any hiccup with suppliers or with Boeing’s own workers could turn into a major problem for a production team running at such a high level. Slippage in quality of parts or unforeseen problems with new subsystems on the 777X or a potential 757 replacement—or the resurfacing of old problems like the battery issues that plagued early 787s—could also create costly headaches.

    Defending the defense unit

    Boeing builds a number of legacy military aircraft that are nearing the end of their lives, including the Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet flown by the Navy and the C-17 airlifter. It now faces a situation in which some of its older production lines are closing and new business isn’t materializing to take its place. Looking forward, a $55 billion contract for the U.S. Air Force’s Long Range Strike Bomber is the only major Pentagon combat jet program up for grabs in the next several years.

    With its role as a combat jet maker diminishing, its defense unit might have to make serious structural changes, especially if Boeing loses the bomber program to rival Northrop Grumman NOC -0.66% . In order to maintain its standing in the defense industry, the company could also choose to bulk up on new production contracts through acquisition.

    Though Boeing declined to comment on the matter, the company could choose to pursue a reported $10 billion takeover of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, once its parent company United Technologies Corp, UTX -0.59% finishes offloading the helicopter maker later this year. It could also bounce back from losing the new bomber contract by simply acquiring the winner, should the much smaller Northrop Grumman prevail.

    Regardless of what Boeing does to revitalize its defense unit, it will have to do something. And with a decision on the new Long-Range Strike Bomber expected within weeks, one of Muilenburg’s first big decisions may focus on how to spend money rather than how to make it.

    “There are a large number of legacy platforms winding down,” Aboulafia says of the issues facing Boeing’s defense unit as Muilenburg takes the helm. “So you can take action to extend their life, try to promote exports to foreign customers, or you can look at acquisitions. Acquisitions might be high on his list of action items.”