DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said on Monday it would invest $50 million upgrading a Chicago facility to partially assemble hybrid electric SUVs and vehicles for police use, creating 450 jobs.
The plant currently modifies vehicles for police use. That work will be transferred to a nearby facility.
After retooling, the new production line will later this year start partially assembling hybrid versions of the Ford Explorer sport utility vehicle and the luxury Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring SUV.
It will also partially assemble the Police Interceptor SUV.
On Friday, Ford said it would lay off about 200 workers in September at a Canadian manufacturing plant in Oakville, Ontario, with more layoffs possible in January, because of slowing sales of the sedans that the plant manufactures.
Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales are expected to fall this year, although pickup trucks and SUVs remain more popular than traditional passenger cars.
Last week, Ford also kicked off talks on a new four-year contract with the United Auto Workers union, with job security, healthcare costs and the use of temporary workers expected to be major sticking points.
(Reporting by Nick Carey; Editing by Peter Cooney)
WASHINGTON, July 19 (Reuters) – Lockheed Martin was awarded a $1.48 billion contract to build the THAAD missile defense system for Saudi Arabia, bringing the total value of the deal to $5.36 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday.
The new contract was a modification to a previously awarded agreement to produce the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptor for Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon said.
In November 2018, Saudi and U.S. officials signed letters of offer and acceptance formalizing terms for Saudi Arabia’s purchase of 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.
In April Lockheed was awarded a $2.4 billion contract for THAAD interceptor missiles, some of which are slated to be delivered to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The latest contract is for interceptor support items.
Lockheed Martin, the biggest U.S. arms maker, builds and integrates the THAAD system, which is designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. Raytheon, another U.S. firm, builds its advanced radar.
(Reporting by David Alexander Editing by Tom Brown)
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China Southern Airlines will carry out an equity diversification plan that will involve the injection of 30 billion yuan ($4.36 billion) of capital from three investors, the firm announced on Saturday.
The Guangdong Hengjian Investment Holding Corporation, the Guangzhou Urban Construction Investment Group and the Shenzhen Penghang Equity Investment Fund will each inject 10 billion yuan into the airline, as part of the country’s efforts to diversify ownership structures among state-owned firms.
The move will significantly improve the company’s debt-to-asset ratio, generate funds for its growth and help modernize its decision-making mechanisms, the announcement said.
It will also use the funds to serve its main air transportation business, pay for construction related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative and support aviation development in cities in the southern province of Guangdong.
China Southern is one of 96 enterprises owned and administered directly by the central government. Its profits slumped nearly 50% last year as a result of rising fuel costs and a weak yuan currency.
(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
LONDON (Reuters) – Airbus is close to a deal worth billions of dollars to sell dozens of A320neo-family and smaller A220 aircraft to Air France as the French network carries out a keenly awaited renewal of its medium-haul fleet, industry sources said.
The deal could include as many as 50-70 Canadian-designed A220 jets, formerly known as CSeries, to replace Air France’s ageing fleet of roughly 50 A318 and A319 aircraft, they said.
Air France is also expected to pick the A320neo family to replace approximately 40 earlier versions of the Airbus A320 that are up to 18 years old.
A spokeswoman for Franco-Dutch parent Air France-KLM said: “Air France is pursuing work on its medium-haul fleet renewal. No decision has been taken at this stage.”
Airbus declined to comment on the deal, which is expected to be formally discussed at an end-month Air France-KLM board meeting.
The expected deal marks a rebound for Airbus after rival Boeing poached part of the fleet of British Airways owner IAG at last month’s Paris Airshow.
That deal caught Airbus off guard, though in the longer term sources say it may also have eased the European planemaker’s anxieties over the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX following the Ethiopian Airlines crash in March.
Airbus privately hopes the MAX will survive the crisis to avoid a costly race to develop all-new aircraft and to ease the prospect of a radical change in certification rules.
The anticipated Air France deal also illustrates Airbus’s recent deliberate effort to boost A220 sales by packaging deals together with its benchmark A320, industry sources said.
Airbus bought the loss-making A220 programme from Canada’s Bombardier last year and immediately began offering it to customers that already have other Airbus aircraft, allowing it to juggle prices and ancillary services across the fleet.
Air France-KLM, formed from a merger of French and Dutch flag carriers in 2004, continues to operate a mixed fleet between its two main national networks.
KLM last month provisionally became the first major European customer for the newly certified E195-E2 offered by A220 rival Embraer of Brazil, whose commercial aerospace arm is being acquired by Boeing.
KLM signed a letter of intent for 15 of the upgraded aircraft and options for another 20.
The Dutch carrier and Franco-Dutch low-cost subsidiary Transavia both operate the Boeing 737 family.
(Additional reporting by Laurence Frost; Editing by Geert de Clercq and Luke Baker)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump met on Thursday with the chief executives of major American airlines to discuss their accusations that subsidies by Qatar and United Arab Emirates are costing jobs in the United States.
The meeting between Trump and the CEOs of American Airlines, United Airlines, JetBlue Airways Corp, FedEx Corp, and Atlas Air included Vice President Mike Pence, the White House said.
The meeting also included the CEO of state-owned Qatar Airways, Akbar al-Baker, who was also at the White House last week to tout its decision in June to buy five new Boeing 777 freighters.
The White House did not immediately provide details of the meeting.
Since 2015 the largest U.S. carriers – Delta Air Lines, American and United Airlines – have argued their Gulf rivals are being unfairly subsidized by their governments, distorting competition and costing U.S. jobs – something the Gulf carriers deny.
The Partnership for Open & Fair Skies, a group representing Delta, American, United and aviation unions, said it had a “productive meeting” with Trump.
“The president shares our concerns and instructed us to keep working with the U.S. Department of Transportation, which we plan to do,” Scott Reed, the group’s managing partner, said in a statement.
The CEOs of JetBlue, FedEx and Atlas Air have warned that restricting the rights of Qatar Airways could lead to retaliation against U.S. carriers and added, in an April letter, it could lead to “a rapid unravelling of hard-fought aviation rights around the world when other governments take similar action to shield their state-owned airlines from competition.”
Last week, the CEOs of Delta, United and American wrote a joint USA Today op-ed urging the White House to act “decisively to hold Qatar and the UAE accountable.” They suggested that failing to respond would “signal to other countries that they too are free to exploit American workers.”
In April, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the administration was scrutinizing Qatar Airways’ acquisition of a 49% stake in Air Italy, which has been flying to U.S. destinations since 2018 in a move seen by U.S. lawmakers as flouting a deal not to add new flights to the domestic market.
Both Republicans and Democrats in Congress have said they were concerned that the deal with the Italian carrier contravened an understanding Qatar Airways reached with the United States in early 2018.
Qatar Airways acquired the 49% of Italian airline Meridiana in 2017, rebranded it Air Italy and transformed it into a carrier with five announced nonstop U.S. destinations from Milan.
The Qatari government said in 2018 it was unaware of any plans to launch flights from Qatar to U.S. destinations via stops in Europe known as “Fifth Freedom” flights.
(Reporting by Steve Holland and David Shepardson; Additional reporting by Jeff Mason; editing by Marguerita Choy, Tom Brown and Richard Chang)
An Airbus concept aircraft with a wing design inspired by nature, dubbed Bird of Prey, is displayed at the Royal International Air Tattoo at Raf Fairford, near Fairford
RAF FAIRFORD, England (Reuters) – Airbus <EADSY> on Friday unveiled a concept aircraft with splayed wingtips and a fanned tail inspired by the feathers of an eagle as it experiments with “biomimicry” technology that could eventually lead to quieter landings and less pollution.
The European planemaker’s UK subsidiary sought to capture the imagination of future engineers by showing off a model of the raptor-like airliner at a military air show in England.
The propeller-driven aircraft would have individually controlled “feathers” on the wingtips to provide what Airbus calls “active flight control” used by an eagle or a falcon.
Also evident is the absence of a traditional vertical tail, relying instead on a split, wedge-shaped tail to reduce drag.
The regional aircraft would carry as many as 80 passengers up to 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) and burn 30% to 50% less fuel than today’s equivalent planes, Airbus said.
Inaugurating the display to curious military chiefs and visitors to the Royal International Air Tattoo, Britain’s Trade Secretary Liam Fox said it highlighted Britain’s technical capability and its attractiveness as a place to invest.
Airbus said its concept plane would have a geodesic or curved fuselage in a throwback to the contours of the Wellington bomber designed by British aircraft designer Barnes Wallis.
That aircraft was built in Broughton in Wales from the 1930s to keep it beyond the range of German bombers.
Airbus now uses the same site to produce wings for over 800 jetliners a year. But it has warned the plant faces competition from European nations such as Germany, or others such as Korea, for future generations following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Brexit supporters are sceptical Airbus would take such a step given Britain’s experience with wingmaking.
LONDON (Reuters) – Jaguar Land Rover (TAMO.NS) is making a multi-million pound investment to build electric vehicles in Britain, in a major boost for the UK government and a sector hit by the slump in diesel sales and Brexit uncertainty.
Britain’s biggest car company, which built 30 percent of the UK’s 1.5 million cars last year, will make a range of electrified vehicles at its Castle Bromwich plant in central England, beginning with its luxury sedan, the XJ.
“The future of mobility is electric and, as a visionary British company, we are committed to making our next generation of zero-emission vehicles in the UK,” Chief Executive Ralf Speth said on Friday.
The announcement gives a boost to Britain’s automotive sector hit this year by Honda and Ford’s (F.N) plans to close factories.
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has highlighted the dangers of a no-deal Brexit and the need to maintain frictionless trade with the European Union, echoing warnings from the industry that just-in-time production could be hit by customs delays and additional bureaucracy.
But it has signed a deal with workers at the Castle Bromwich factory to go from a five-day to a four-day working week with the same amount of hours which should allow the plant to operate more efficiently.
Three of JLR’s four European car plants are in Britain, giving it limited capacity elsewhere on the continent.
The other, in Slovakia, only opened last year and is still being ramped up with other models allocated there.
“We are making this investment because the ongoing Brexit uncertainty has left us with no choice, we had to act, for our employees and our business,” JLR said.
“We are committed to the UK as our home and will fight to stay here but we need the right deal.”
Both candidates to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt, have both said they are prepared to take Britain out of the EU on Oct. 31 without a deal, although it is not their preferred option.
Brexiteers have argued that the EU’s biggest economy Germany, which exports hundreds of thousands of cars to Britain ever year, would do its utmost to protect that trade
Friday’s announcement comes after a turbulent few months for Jaguar which announced around 4,500 job cuts earlier in January and posted a 3.66 billion pound ($4.5 billion) loss in 2018/19.
The carmaker is undergoing a turnaround designed to offer an electrified option to all of its new models from 2020 as it seeks to move away from its reliance on diesel vehicles which are being increasingly shunned by buyers.
Jaguar also called on the government to bring giga-scale battery production to the country so that Britain is not left behind in the rush to produce low and zero-emissions vehicles and technology.
Britain’s business minister Greg Clark said the government was doing all it can to meet that goal.
“We are determined to realize that ambition,” he said.
($1 = 0.7952 pounds)
Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Michael Holden and Jane Merriman
FILE PHOTO – A car hangs on the wall of Jaguar’s Castle Bromwich manufacturing facility in Birmingham, Britain, November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Darren Staples
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has halted sales of a new book that the planemaker had commissioned for its 50th anniversary to avoid hampering the manufacturer’s attempts to win a settlement in a bribery probe, two people familiar with the matter said.
The move is the latest sign of tension in Airbus as it nears the climax of a roughly $400 million, four-year internal probe carried out in support of an Anglo-French investigation into the use of intermediaries to win jetliner and other deals.
Airbus has already fired more than 100 people over ethics and compliance issues as its probe has progressed.
The book, “Airbus: The First 50 Years”, written by former New York Times journalist Nicola Clark, charts the rise of Airbus against challenging odds to become a European rival to Boeing and has a chapter focusing on the probe.
Sources said Airbus hoped to present its findings to the UK Serious Fraud Office and France’s PNF police by the end of the year. By doing so, they said it would seek more leniency under a system of prosecution agreements that allows for heavy fines rather than charges that might bar it from public contracts.
The two people said Airbus halted the book’s sales because it was concerned its official links to the publication could hamper talks with the authorities or discussions over other litigation as it seeks a fresh start under new management.
Airbus confirmed it had decided not to go ahead with the commissioned book, but denied any link to the bribery probe. It declined comment on the progress of the investigation itself.
“We continue to co-operate in full with the ongoing investigation,” an Airbus spokesman said. “The investigation and the book are two separate topics”.
Clark told Reuters she was “deeply disappointed with the very belated decision by Airbus to withdraw (the book)”.
UK-based publisher Urbane Publications declined to comment.
The book stems from an unusual initiative launched in 2016 under which Airbus granted Clark unprecedented access and full independence to give an unvarnished account of 50 years of industrial co-operation just as Europe’s political unity wavers.
It was published on Amazon’s Kindle service on May 29, half a century after Airbus was launched at a meeting of Franco-German founders including Roger Beteille, who died last month.
The book was quickly withdrawn from online sale and plans to distribute already-printed copies at the Paris Airshow in June were scrapped at the last minute, casting confusion over the company’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
But copies have been circulating and a review was published by Leeham News, a website covering the aviation industry.
Airbus said the version seen by the public was a draft. “The draft wasn’t consistent with our ambition for celebrating 50 years of pioneering progress,” the Airbus spokesman said.
Clark said Airbus had not described the book as a draft before notifying her of the decision to withdraw it.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Edmund Blair)
FILE PHOTO: An Airbus A350-1000 performs during the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris
SEATTLE, July 11 (Reuters) – Boeing’s 737 jet program manager, Eric Lindblad, will retire in a matter of weeks after roughly 12 months on the job, according to a company memo seen by Reuters on Thursday.
Lindblad’s departure, after a 34-year career at Boeing, comes as the world’s largest planemaker navigates one of the worst crises in its history. Boeing’s money-spinning 737 MAX jetliner has been grounded in the wake of two deadly crashes that killed nearly 350 people in the span of five months.
Taking Lindblad’s place as the lead of the 737 program and the Renton, Washington, factory will be Mark Jenks, who has been leading Boeing’s potential new mid-market airplane (NMA) project, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Chief Executive Kevin McAllister wrote in the memo to employees seen by Reuters.
Mike Sinnett, Boeing Commercial Airplanes vice president of product development and future airplane development, will assume the role of vice president for NMA in addition to his current role, the memo said. Sinnett, who originally led preliminary work on the NMA, has been seen a figurehead of the program.
“Let me be clear – the NMA team will continue to operate as a program, and I am looking forward to Mike’s leadership in this important effort,” McAllister said in the memo.
In naming Jenks and Sinnett to run marquee projects at such a crucial time, McAllister is choosing two of Boeing’s most high-profile engineers. Jenks has been credited with turning around the 787 Dreamliner program, and his appointment on the NMA was seen as key to putting the potential twin-aisle aircraft on a path to a rapid launch.
But industry sources say the launch of the NMA has been delayed by the 737 MAX crisis. The NMA program, if it goes ahead, will most likely not be launched before spring or summer of next year, the sources said.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Leslie Adler)
The Airbus logo is pictured at Airbus headquarters in Blagnac near Toulouse, France.
BEIJING (Reuters) – Air China, China’s flagship carrier, will buy 20 A350-900 jets from Airbus SE worth $6.54 billion based on list prices, the carrier said on Thursday.
Air China, which has 10 of the fuel-efficient widebody aircraft in its fleet already, said the deliveries were scheduled from 2020 to 2022.
It was not immediately clear if the order would bolster the Airbus order book or if it had previously been attributed to an unidentified customer. Airbus did not respond immediately to requests for comment.
A fresh order would help Airbus narrow a deficit in widebody orders against Boeing as trade tensions persist between the United States and China.
Boeing won a positive total of 61 widebody orders in the first half this year against Airbus’ negative tally of 35 jets, meaning the European company had more cancellations than orders for twin aisle aircraft in the period.
Air China said it has the right to swap 5 out of 20 jets for the larger A350-1000.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Se Young Lee and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
