[dingaling]

> Is Boeing facing a hard time competing against rivals say Airbus?

Airbus is on a strong run at the moment.

However what I think 'competition' means in this sense is design and construction competition within Boeing. The 787 was a $30 billion lesson to Boeing on how to globalise aircraft design and production. They made a mess of it, at least on the initial -8 model, but as a result seem to have learned how to work with global risk-sharing partners; partners who employ their own engineers at their own cost and who design components ( wings, fuselages etc ) at their own cost and risk to a specification provided by Boeing. Much like engine manufacturers already do.

And as a result Boeing can also move towards a final-assembly-only paradigm, which further reduces workforce requirements.

Smaller companies like Bombardier have already had to make those changes in order to survive and Boeing is being proactive in following them.