Lockheed-Boeing venture [ULA] lays off 12 executives in major reorganization

[DocM]

Tony Bruno wrote a book about the Knights Templar business practices named Templar Incorporated. They ended up disbanded.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0O029D20150515

Lockheed-Boeing venture lays off 12 executives in major reorganization

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) and Boeing Co (BA.N), on Friday said it was cutting its executive ranks by 30 percent in December through what it called voluntary departures by 12 executives.

Tory Bruno, chief executive of the venture, told Reuters in an emailed statement the layoffs were part of ULA's ongoing efforts to adapt to what he called "an increasingly competitive business environment" and redesign its leadership team.

ULA, formed by the two largest U.S. weapons makers in 2006, has long been the sole company able to launch U.S. military and intelligence satellites into orbit, but the Air Force expects to certify a new rival, privately-held Space Exploration Technologies, to compete for some of those launches next month.

The company is also under pressure from a new law that limits its use of the Russian RD-180 rocket engines that power its Atlas 5 launch vehicles after 2019. Congress passed the law after Russia annexed the Crimea region of Ukraine last year.

"ULA's back is to the wall," said defense consultant Loren Thompson. "Unless it gets relief from the congressional mandate on getting off Russian rockets and it can't speed up its alternative, then its business model is severely impaired."

Bruno told Reuters last month that Boeing and Lockheed could halt investment in a new U.S.-powered rocket unless the company got permission to use a number of Russian engines ordered but not paid for before the invasion of Crimea.

Without those engines, ULA would be unable to compete for some critical Air Force launches between 2019 and 2022, when the new rocket is expected to be certified.

Bruno announced the layoffs internally on Wednesday in what some employees have dubbed the "Mother's Day Massacre," given its timing just after the holiday last weekend.

"It is important for ULA to move forward early in the process with our leadership selections to ensure a seamless transition and our continued focus on mission success," Bruno said in response to a query from Reuters about the layoffs.

He thanked the 12 executives for their dedication and said they would leave the company on Dec. 31 to ensure a seamless transition period with the new organization.

The names of the departing executives were not immediately available. It was unclear what kind of incentives they got to leave voluntarily.

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[Unobscured Vision]

Can't say we didn't see this coming.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

Yes...They will now have to learn to earn a profit while in a competitive environment...and they'll have to do a lot more than this down the road...Cheers

[DocM]

And per Space News Boeing still isn't funding Vulcan long term, it requires quarterly reathorization. That's not exactly confidence inspiring.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

I didn't know that!...My own opinion is that this is where the "young guns" are going to revolutionize the industry. Adapt to change, home source, provide a cost effective service, work with customers and most importantly...have a long term vision which is not dependent on "politics"....Cheers

[DocM]

I didn't know that!...

Space News, April 24, 2015....

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So far, ULA

[Unobscured Vision]

Wow. And with the news of the latest Budget stuff (and essentially finding McCain's boot up their arse), it's not a good time to be a ULA employee for the foreseeable future.

 

They really did this nonsense to themselves, and it could have been avoided.

[Beittil]

I think their attempts at trying to wrestle the Congress/House committees into permitting the RD-180 again (actions like planning to prematurely cancel the Delta IV medium class, making the Heavy more expensive, etc) have a good chance of backfiring on them!

[DocM]

Key factors were Putin proving himself an untrustworthy partner and ULA's $1B/yr in Assured Access payments going anywhere but moving the the US space access ball downfield.

[FloatingFatMan]

Wow. And with the news of the latest Budget stuff (and essentially finding McCain's boot up their arse), it's not a good time to be a ULA employee for the foreseeable future.

 

They really did this nonsense to themselves, and it could have been avoided.

 

I refuse to have any sympathy for corporate behemoths like ULA. If they're going to stick to their outdated business practices, they deserve to have their business stolen away by smaller, agile companies like SpaceX.

[Unobscured Vision]

Oh, don't get me wrong. I've absolutely no sympathy for ULA Management whatsoever. We call what they've done "Milking Bessie", aka "milking the clock". Getting something for nothing, or in this case, getting a lot of something for nothing. ULA deserves whatever happens from this point out.

 

The only thing I feel badly about are the workers who had no choice about the matter, who simply had to proceed as instructed and who will probably see cutbacks and layoffs. That's all.

 

ULA had a decade (or more) to come up with a better engine design. Money was thrown at them to do it. They instead took that money and didn't do anything. And now they cry and drag their feet like children being punished ...

 

Nope. Acting lessons are not going to bail them out of this one, no matter how much they cry and beg.

[FloatingFatMan]

I'm not overly worried about ULA's employees. Given how fast SpaceX is recruiting, any that are laid off, if they're any good at all, won't stay laid off for long.

[DocM]

SpaceX wants high expertise self-starters, the top 1-2%. A lot of OldSpace folks have been so beaten down by their respective bureaucracies that transition isn't easy.

[FloatingFatMan]

SpaceX wants high expertise self-starters, the top 1-2%. A lot of OldSpace folks have been so beaten down by their respective bureaucracies that transition isn't easy.

 

Piffle. It's all about motivation.  I'm sure there's loads of folks currently drifting through their careers at ULA who'd -love- to make a splash at somewhere new and exciting.

[DocM]

I'm sure there are, and those are the potential SpaceXers. OTOH, and I've seen this, there are organizations that almost beat those positive traits out of people to where they can't reset. They follow the program and put in their time.

[Draggendrop Veteran]

I may be wrong, but I believe that so far, a prospective employee for SpaceX must be a U.S. citizen, due to sensitive technology. It would be invaluable  to acquire the best that many countries have, and with SpaceX's reputation to date, many out there would jump at the chance....