波音新CEO的艱難抉擇

????供與需

????提高737和787的產能，也會給波音的供應商和制造工人帶來更大的壓力——波音與他們的關系本就十分緊張。過去10年里，波音一直被指責對其制造工人和供應商進行不當施壓，以降低成本，并減少787“夢想飛機”研發項目造成的損失。

????不管在這些事上誰對誰錯，如果波音想成功地提高產能或推出新的機型，麥倫堡就必須解決好波音與工人和供應商的緊張關系。

????鑒于訂單任務如此沉重，一旦波音與供應商或自己的制造工人有任何齟齬，都有可能發酵成大問題。另外，一些其它意外情況也可能發展成需要大量資金去搞定的問題，比如零部件質量下滑，777X或757替代機型的某個子系統出現意料之外的問題，抑或是一些老問題再度浮現（比如曾困擾過早期787機型的電池問題）。

????捍衛軍用飛機部門

????波音生產的許多經典軍用飛機已接近服役期晚年，比如美國海軍的F/A-18“超級大黃蜂”和C-17運輸機等等。現在，一些舊的軍用飛機生產線即將關閉，而波音尚未敲定新的業務去取代它們。現在看來，美國空軍拋出的550億美元遠程轟炸機大單，可能是未來幾年內波音唯一能把握住的五角大樓大型軍用飛機項目了。

????隨著波音在軍用飛機市場的地位日漸不保，其軍用飛機部門或許將不得不進行重大的結構改革，特別是如果波音在此次轟炸機項目中敗給競爭對手諾斯羅普格魯曼公司的話。為了維系它在國防行業的地位，波音還可能會通過收購來謀求新的生產合同。

????據報道，一旦聯合科技公司在今年徹底剝離旗下的西科斯基飛機公司，波音很有可能會斥資100億美元收購這家直升機制造企業。另外，如果波音真的在遠程轟炸機項目中敗給諾斯洛普格魯曼公司，波音要想止損也不難，它只要直接把后者收購過來就可以了，畢竟這家公司要比它小得多。

????不管波音打算怎樣復興它的軍用飛機部門，至少它都得做些什么。隨著新型遠程轟炸機的競標將在幾周內截止，麥倫堡上任的第一個決策，可能就是要決定該怎么花錢，而不是怎么賺錢。

????談到麥倫堡需要應對軍用飛機部門問題時，阿波拉弗亞表示：“有很多經典平臺都在走下坡路，所以你可以采取行動延長它們的壽命，也可以推動出口，或者你也可以考慮收購。在他的行動計劃上，收購可能排在比較靠前的位置。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????審校：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.”