Boeing strike: High stakes in outsourcing - Los Angeles Times

Boeing strike: High stakes in outsourcing - Los Angeles Times

Yet the company would argue that building next-generation planes like the 787 requires not only an injection of outside development capital, but also outside expertise.

"Take composites: This is a huge, huge change in the way airplanes are built, moving from aluminum as the dominant technology for the skin of the airplane to composites. Boeing doesn't have the same experience with composites. As it turns out, there is a fair amount of experience over in Japan," said Richard L. Nolan, management professor at the University of Washington and a former Boeing employee.

The move to outsourcing, he said, "is not just an issue of low-cost labor. It's tapping into a global workforce, a global market and building strategies that will allow you to effectively compete."