American Airlines status

[Conan71]

Here's a possibility: furloughed employees with some great skill sets ends up attracting a large MRO presence in Tulsa to not only do some functions previously done by AA mechanics and machinists, but they might well attract more maintenance and overhaul business to Tulsa.  We are somewhat unique with Nordam, AA, LMI Finishing, Helicomb, and a few others here in Tulsa.  We are kind of like a smaller Long Beach or St. Louis back in the heyday of McDonnel Douglas, Lockheed, etc.  Our entire net worth of direct air jobs is probably close to 10,000 in the Tulsa MSA.

I'm optimistic that those jobs won't disappear but will end up with a firm who is better positioned to make aircraft maintenance a profit center instead of a cost center.  That is something AA has attempted to do over the last decade with contracts with the government Fedex and others, but apparently, not enough of a profit center to avoid bankruptcy.

Ed, I'm truly concerned for you and many others I know at the base and those on AA pensions.  Wishing you all the best.

[Hoss]

Here's a possibility: furloughed employees with some great skill sets ends up attracting a large MRO presence in Tulsa to not only do some functions previously done by AA mechanics and machinists, but they might well attract more maintenance and overhaul business to Tulsa.  We are somewhat unique with Nordam, AA, LMI Finishing, Helicomb, and a few others here in Tulsa.  We are kind of like a smaller Long Beach or St. Louis back in the heyday of McDonnel Douglas, Lockheed, etc.  Our entire net worth of direct air jobs is probably close to 10,000 in the Tulsa MSA.

I'm optimistic that those jobs won't disappear but will end up with a firm who is better positioned to make aircraft maintenance a profit center instead of a cost center.  That is something AA has attempted to do over the last decade with contracts with the government Fedex and others, but apparently, not enough of a profit center to avoid bankruptcy.

Ed, I'm truly concerned for you and many others I know at the base and those on AA pensions.  Wishing you all the best.

Same here Ed; my best friend and two other close friends work out there (although one is extremely close to retirement).  One has been out there for about 12 years, the other about 10.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Well now maybe the Tulsa Chamber will get off its A$$ and start doing what it needs to do which is ATTRACTING new companies here so all our fish isn't in one bucket....

Funny!  Thanks for the laugh...the Chamber doing what it is ostensibly formed to do...  LOL!

[heironymouspasparagus]

City Leaders Say Tulsa, State Can Absorb Laid Off American Workers

http://www.newson6.com/story/16654729/city-leaders-say-tulsa-state-can-absorb-laid-off-american-workers?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

The big lie behind all the city spewed stuff about finding-jobs-quickly-crap is the fact that the jobs will be at half price.  With dramatically reduced benefits.  The workers are skilled, but this country has devalued skill for decades, in favor of having Chinese and Indian workers do the job.



I wish you well, Ed!!!  And everyone else at American!

[heironymouspasparagus]

I think Tulsa will be able to absorb a lot of the losses through early retirements and people getting jobs at other aerospace/manufacturing companies that are growing here.  Some will also go to OKC where Boeing and Tinker are hiring.  I don't think that many will just up and leave.

Keeping in mind how those new Boeing jobs suddenly appeared...

By the company screwing the city of Wichita.

[Hoss]

Keeping in mind how those new Boeing jobs suddenly appeared...

By the company screwing the city of Wichita.

Not a finer city to be screwed, either.

[Conan71]

Keeping in mind how those new Boeing jobs suddenly appeared...

By the company screwing the city of Wichita.

With the current economy, the unfortunate reality is that job creation seems to be of a cannibalistic nature right now.  And you and I are in agreement on how badly the American worker has been hosed by free trade pacts.

Aside from the obvious need for tariffs and penalties for U.S. companies moving jobs overseas, do you have any ideas on what we could do to generate new jobs rather than re-locate jobs from one MSA to another?

[DTowner]

The big lie behind all the city spewed stuff about finding-jobs-quickly-crap is the fact that the jobs will be at half price.  With dramatically reduced benefits.  The workers are skilled, but this country has devalued skill for decades, in favor of having Chinese and Indian workers do the job.

Would it be better for city/Chamber leaders to run around screaming the sky is falling?  There appears to be truth to what they are saying, but likely also a fair amount of positive spin.  Perhaps they are trying to paint a positive picture as part of their efforts to attrack companies to the area to take advantage of this newly available talent and to encourage those laid off to look for work here before looking in another city.  That is what I expect out of our leaders.

On the macro level, the "creative destruction" of the bankruptcy process will hopefully allow AA to pare down some debt and be competitive.  If so, that could bring some stability and prosperity to the company it has lacked for a long time.  It may also give existing and new companies in the area access to talented and experienced workers that will allow those companies to grow and prosper in unforeseen ways.

On the micro level, it is painful for the AA workers and will cause great anxiety and uncertainty for many of our friends and neighbors.

[rdj]

It will be interesting to see how this affects development in the local economy.  Will developers, builders, retailers, bankers, etc pucker up at this news?  Or, will they move as if nothing is happening?

IMO, that's why the Chamber is taking the position they are.  They can't let a doomsday scenario set in and set us back another 3-5 years in developing what we as a collective community have worked so hard to develop in our downtown, midtown, suburban areas and river.  We've got a great momentum in our community and it's up to the citizens and the business community through their "trade organization", the Chamber, to keep pushing forward and growing our economy.

All that said, if I was in economic development in Owasso I'd be scared.  Huge numbers of AA employees live in that community.  The "Owasso Triangle" hasn't been the success the former ED director predicted and they've already seen a massive cooling in retail development.  They are the community I see most affected by a significant job reduction.

[heironymouspasparagus]

Not a finer city to be screwed, either.

Be nice!  Wichita isn't ALL Koch Brothers...

[heironymouspasparagus]

Aside from the obvious need for tariffs and penalties for U.S. companies moving jobs overseas, do you have any ideas on what we could do to generate new jobs rather than re-locate jobs from one MSA to another?

Short answer - no.  I do recognize the fact that it is not in the best interest of anyone, with the possible exception of the CEO and board.  Boeing has been a classic example of what not to do.  Move from Seattle to Chicago?  Anyone thinks that was in anyone's best interest?

And now shifting from Wichita to OKC.  It's a shell game to allow a claim of "cost reduction" or whatever excuse du jour to justify writing themselves big bonus options for the "job well done".

Cannibalism is a reality in product markets - if a company does not cannibalize their own product line with new/improved, then someone else will.  (That's why they need people like Red and me.)  It should not be a tool of corporate policy against cities/states/nations.

In the final analysis, it can be traced to the dependencies our economic pattern has evolved - economic activity/expansion/growth depends on increasing population (for "slave" labor wages) and exploitation of "new" natural resources.  When population growth slows, or cheap resources become scarce, then our model becomes frayed around the edges and starts to have problems.

In the future, barring catastrophic collapses of the population, a "steady-state" economic model will likely be needed - at least as a major component.  Examples in the past have all seemed to be tribal in nature consisting of small groups.  I cannot imagine a large scale version unless some sort of "utopian" fantasy comes true, like fusion reactors for unlimited power, allowing everyone the time to pursue their individual interests in an ongoing way.  Not likely.

But the steady state model is something that should be at least discussed.  Or we could just have another world war conflagration to knock the population down by 20 to 30%, so the current model gets new life breathed into it....

[Teatownclown]

With the current economy, the unfortunate reality is that job creation seems to be of a cannibalistic nature right now.  And you and I are in agreement on how badly the American worker has been hosed by free trade pacts right to work.

Aside from the obvious need for tariffs and penalties for U.S. companies moving jobs overseas, do you have any ideas on what we could do to generate new jobs rather than re-locate jobs from one MSA to another?

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/25/what-is-right-to-work-law/  It didn't help here....

Maybe the airline bizness s/b modeled on socialism. Airport security is already fascist so why not?

[Conan71]

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2012/01/25/what-is-right-to-work-law/  It didn't help here....

Maybe the airline bizness s/b modeled on socialism. Airport security is already fascist so why not?

I fail to see how the airline industry has been hosed by right to work when it's virtually impossible to find an airline job which is not unionized.  If you think the industry isn't already a model of socialism, consider all the federal dollars which pay for air traffic control, airports, the FAA, professional gropers, etc.  The only thing missing is direct ownership of the airlines by the government.  Also consider how strongly organized labor fits into the picture.

[Hoss]

Be nice!  Wichita isn't ALL Koch Brothers...

That really has nothing to do with it, but...ok.

[heironymouspasparagus]

That really has nothing to do with it, but...ok.

You don't like Wichita on it own merits, huh?

I can see that...