Boeing [BA] Defense Chief Leanne Caret on June 13 said she is eliminating two of the defense segment’s three reporting sectors in favor of smaller entities that will report to directly to her, simplifying and flattening the organization to speed decision making and make the business more competitive.
The reorganization and streamlining will also result in 50 executive positions being eliminated, eliminating a layer of executive oversight. A Boeing spokesman told sister publication Defense Daily the company doesn’t expect any financial issues related to the restructuring.
The changes go into effect on July 1, and include eliminating the Boeing Military Aircraft, and Network and Space Systems sectors, which develop and produce fighter and transport aircraft, satellites, launch systems, and communications equipment. The Global Services & Support sector remains in place.
The new organizational structure will include the Autonomous Systems entity, which will include: unmanned systems, as well as the Insitu and Liquid Robotics subsidiaries, and certain electronic and information systems; Space and Missile Systems, to include satellites, the company’s share of the United Launch Alliance joint venture with Lockheed Martin [LMT], work on the Space Station, missile defense systems, and munitions and weapons systems; Strike, Surveillance and Mobility, including the F-15 and F/A-18 fighters, P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, fixed-wing aircraft upgrade work, and the bid for the new Air Force Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System aircraft; and Vertical Lift, including all helicopter programs and the V-22 tilt-rotor.
The new business entities will report to Caret, who became president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security in March 2016.
“We need to be an agile organization that is more responsive to customers’ needs and committed to continually improving productivity,” Caret said in a statement. “We are fundamentally addressing how we compete, win, and grow in Boeing’s second century.”
Boeing said that Chris Raymond will lead Autonomous Systems, Jim Chilton will head Space and Missile Systems, Shelley Lavender, will manage Strike, Surveillance and Mobility, and Vertical Lift will be run by David Koopersmith.
The development, global operations, and Phantom Works operations are largely unchanged and will keep reporting to Caret.
In November 2016, Caret announced the start of a four-year effort to consolidate Boeing’s defense operations to enhance competitiveness by shrinking the real estate footprint and eliminating 500 positions. That plan includes job relocations as well.
At the start of 2017 Boeing also moved the headquarters of the defense segment to the Washington, D.C. area.