A spokesman for the union that represents some of the workers who build Boeing airplanes claims the company’s shift to a “cost-cutting” corporate culture has isolated employees, alienated suppliers and customers and ultimately underlies the problems it’s having with its current airplanes, including the 737 MAX. Stan Sorscher, of the Society for Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), wrote an opinion piece for the Seattle Times on Friday outlining the causes and effects of Boeing’s corporate evolution. “The cost-cutting culture is the opposite of a culture built on productivity, innovation, safety or quality,” Sorscher wrote. “Boeing’s experience with cost-cutting business culture is apparent.”
He claims Boeing shifted its emphasis from employee empowerment and collaboration to one of earning maximum return for shareholders. He claims that pointing out issues on the factory floor brands workers as troublemakers and therefore stifles the inherent desire of most workers to ensure product quality. He also said cost cutting, which is appropriate for some businesses, is the antithesis of a “performance-driven” model that governs complex manufacturing. “This cost-cutting culture is the opposite of a culture built on productivity, innovation, safety, or quality,” he wrote. “A high-performance work culture requires trust, coordination, strong problem-solving, open flow of information, and commitment to the overall success of the program.”
