INDUSTRY NEWS
placed in offices where staff cannot work from home. Numbers of staff on-site are strictly controlled. So as the industry takes tentative steps back to normality, what does the future hold? There is no doubt the economic climate we are entering will be dramatically different from anything seen recently. So let us speculate about sector demand for the rest of the year.
AIR The airline industry has been hit hard. The OEMs are making large staff lay-offs. For example, at the end of May Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun made this grim statement: “Following the reduction-in-force announcement we made last month, we have concluded our voluntary-layoff (VLO) programme. And now we have come to the unfortunate moment of having to start involuntary lay-offs (ILO). We’re notifying the first 6,770 of our US team members this week that they will be affected. We will provide all the support we can to those of you impacted by the ILOs — including severance pay, health care coverage for US employees and career transition services.” Ironically, on the same day, after
suspension since January, the troubled 737 MAX resumed limited production at the company’s Renton, Washington, USA factory. Predicting the future demand for air
travel is dependent on several factors. Although travellers will always want to visit new places, the pandemic has proven that many office jobs
The Bentley factory in Crewe has made numerous changes to restart production
can successfully be done from home; why fly to a conference when it can be done virtually? Also, the enclosed environment on a plane makes it likely to discourage potential passengers until a vaccine is found. Even with masks and efficient filtering many may be reluctant to fly in the short term, spelling difficult times ahead for the aero industry OEMs. The picture is not much better for
Tier 1 suppliers. Warren East, Rolls- Royce CEO said in May: “Our airline customers and airframe partners are having to adapt and so must we. Being told that there is no longer a job for you is a terrible prospect and it is especially hard when all of us take so much pride in working for Rolls-Royce.
But we must take difficult decisions to see our business through these unprecedented times. Governments across the world are doing what they can to assist businesses in the short- term, but we must respond to market conditions for the medium-term until the world of aviation is flying again at scale, and governments cannot replace sustainable customer demand that is simply not there.” He went on to announce 9,000 job
losses and a reorganisation designed to save £1.3billion. Despite this terrible news, the
company has many other business areas that remain strong, in particular the power generation sector, so in time some of these jobs may return. There is a spark in the drones market
though. A trial in Scotland backed by Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership, NHS Highland and Argyll and Bute Council will see Skysports flights using Wingcopters delivering personal protective equipment. Based at Lorn and Islands Hospital in Oban, the trial will consist of two-way flights between there and Mull and Iona Community Hospital in Craignure 10 miles away on the Isle of Mull. Currently the road and ferry trip can take up to six hours. It’s just 15 minutes by air.
At least drones are flying high 38
www.engineerlive.com
SEA The picture here is similar. At the start of the pandemic cruise ships were infection hotspots, so this doesn’t look
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