The Everett Factory , Everett WA
Community Attributes , Inc . and Mefford , the report architects , said , “ We think it is important to ground people ’ s perspectives in objective data , especially in these changing economic days ; it is important to tell their story effectively .” He said they ’ ve done similar aerospace studies a handful of times . “ Every time we ’ ve done that , the context has changed .” The aerospace industry is important in context , and “ Updating the regional story with actual data is important .”
He said the snapshot has recently changed with the pandemic and other commercial aerospace challenges . This time , they focused on the suppliers servicing the aerospace industry ’ s employees — car dealerships , restaurants , healthcare , and other service-oriented businesses . They also interviewed trade organizations that support the industry , like the Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance ( PNAA ) and the Aerospace Futures Alliance ( AFA ), to weigh in on the needs of their industry membership .
Nikki Malcom , the CEO and executive director of PNAA , was interviewed for the report on behalf of her membership . PNAA has 230 members , and as a nonprofit , its objective is to promote the growth and global competitiveness of the regional aerospace cluster .
She said the impact of COVID-19 and industry challenges have led to 30 to 40 percent layoffs by regional aerospace suppliers .
Malcom indicated that the loss of institutional knowledge caused by the layoffs of skilled labor has impacted the supply chain .
She added that the suppliers in the PNAA membership are looking forward to future stability through a ramp up of the Boeing build rate . Many are creating in-house training programs to re-establish a skilled labor base and are working with long-term high school and apprenticeship programs , like the
36 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS