Spirit AeroSystems Inc. (SPR) on Tuesday said it had hired a
defense industry veteran as chief executive, overseeing civil
aircraft programs that were hit by hefty charges last year because
of cost overruns.
The appointment of Larry Lawson from Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)
left the world's largest military contractor to reshuffle its ranks
again. Three senior executives have announced plans to move on this
year.
Mr. Lawson was promoted less than a year ago to run Lockheed's
aeronautics division, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter
program that's come under fire from Pentagon officials because of
escalating costs.
Wichita, Kan.-based Spirit is the largest supplier of airframe
parts to Boeing Co. (BA), and has diversified since being spun out
by the plane maker in 2005 with contracts for Airbus, Gulfstream
Aerospace Corp., Bombardier Inc. and Mitsubishi Aircraft.
Mr. Lawson will take over as CEO from Jeff Turner, who announced
plans last November to retire from Spirit, after the company
announced in October a $590 million charge because of cost overruns
on work for Gulfstream and Boeing. Despite the overruns, Mr.
Turner, who has run Boeing's Wichita site since 1995, is widely
credited by analysts and industry officials with transitioning
Spirit from a unit of Boeing into a major industry supplier.
"The transition in leadership at Spirit may be challenging" for
Mr. Lawson, said Sanford C. Bernstein Research analyst Douglas
Harned in a client note, citing the executive's background in
defense and Spirit's focus on commercial planes.
Spirit has already cautioned that it may try to renegotiate
contracts with its largest customers because of the cost problems,
and is also wrestling with issues related to its work on the new
Airbus A350 jet.
Airbus is looking at buying a Spirit-owned facility in France,
according to media reports. The unit of European Aeronautic Defence
& Space Co. has pointed to the plant in St. Nazaire as a
potential bottleneck for its A350 program that's already a year
late.
The employs 70 staff and joins carbon-fiber body panels for the
A350, which is due to make its first flight this summer.
The factory's problems stem from a spate of late design changes
to the aircraft, said a person familiar with the operation. News of
a possible sale of the plant was reported earlier by French
newspaper Les Echos and Aviation Week. Airbus was not immediately
available for comment.
Spirit declined comment on the potential sale of the St. Nazaire
facility. A spokesman said work is improving and the company is
"working closely together with Airbus to make the A350
successful."
Any sale to Airbus would mirror the approach taken by Boeing,
which bought out some supplier facilities to improve the supply
chain for its 787 Dreamliner. Spirit builds a significant portion
of the 787, including its forward body, engine pylons and forward
wing structure, but has been consistently identified as Boeing's
highest-performing supplier on the troubled program.Mr. Lawson is
due to assume his new role on April 6.
Lockheed said F-35 program chief Orlando Carvalho would replace
Mr. Lawson as executive vice president of its aeronautics business,
with Lorraine Martin, his deputy, moves up to head the fighter
program.
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