I am at the engineering and planning department of the company. We can proclaim with jubilation that we are another step closer to bringing the 747-8 Freighter to the market; this production milestone is a reflection of the strong working together relationship among Boeing, GE Aviation, Middle River Aircraft Systems and Spirit AeroSystems. The 747-8 Freighter is expected to make its first flight in the fourth quarter of this year, with first delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2010. Boeing has secured 78 orders from leading cargo operators for the new 747-8 Freighter. Cargolux, Nippon Cargo Airlines, AirBridgeCargo Airlines, Atlas Air, Cathay Pacific, Dubai Aerospace Enterprise, Emirates SkyCargo, Guggenheim and Korean Air all have placed firm orders for the airplane.

Like any other large corporation, there are going to be distasteful aspects. In my department, Facilities, there is a lot of favoritism and nepotism. Upcoming layoffs are purely based on who you know rather than what your performance is. We have lost many talented employees because of this issue. There are more 900 layoff notices given to people and many efficient folks are being forced to leave the company.

The compensation was not as high as some of the other manufacturing companies. It was easy to get stuck in one position and do the same things everyday. When I was there I saw some peers do virtually nothing yet maintain their job or even advance while honest worker bees got meaningless trinkets and toys for their efforts. At last I was laid off with couple of more folks who had done their best.