Embraer E195-E2 Image: Embraer
Commercial
Aviation
/ Brazil
limiting
Public Civil Action wants to limit hiring by Boeing of Embraer professionals to 21 per year
By: Rafael Ramos
On: 3/23/2023
Embraer E190
Imagem: Embraer
The American giant Boeing has already hired around 100 highly qualified professionals from Embraer. Experts claim that this is already causing great damage to the Brazilian aerospace sector. However, a Public Civil Action tries to impose limitations on these contracts.
Boeing's focus is on hiring experienced engineers with privileged and confidential information, such as the Gripen fighters. Not only have professionals from Embraer been hired, but from several companies linked to the sector in Brazil.
The lawsuit wants to stop this. Moved by the Brazilian Association of Defense and Security Materials Industries (Abimde) and by the Association of Aerospace Industries of Brazil (AIAB), the objective is that Boeing cannot hire more than 0.6% of its staff of engineers per year each of the Strategic Defense Companies (EED) and the Defense Companies (ED), which operate in the development of Strategic Defense Products (PED).
In practice, this means that Boeing could hire a maximum of 21 Embraer engineers per year in Brazil.
“They haven't stopped hiring. We know that the more time passes, the more the situation gets worse”, says Julio Shidara, president of AIAB.
If Boeing hires people above the limit, a fine of 5 million reais per professional would be applied. The Space Science, Applications and Technology Foundation (Funcate) would also have to be paid the same amount that Embraer and the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) have already spent in the 21 years of the Engineering Specialization Program (PEE). Embraer invests around 5 million reais a year in the program.
“No one wants to prevent Boeing from operating here in Brazil. He wants there to be a balance for all players in the defense sector. That's what the action seeks”, said Leonardo Bissoli, one of the lawyers in the action.
In turn, Boeing said that Abimde and AIAB want to prevent the company from practicing free contracting and that they do not have the legitimacy to propose a public action. He also said that the associations do not provide any legal basis for the extreme measures claimed and, finally, calls for the extinction of the process “disguised as a defense of national sovereignty”.
“There is no evidence in the case file and the plaintiffs do not even make an effort to indicate which Embraer industrial secrets would have been improperly appropriated”, completes Boeing. “In addition to the use of a Public Civil Action to defend Embraer's individual interests, the absence of minimal information about what would be the alleged confidential strategic information shows that there is no probability of violation of the alleged right”.
The lawsuit mentions that Boeing's preference for professionals in the avionics area is not by chance: it is the area with the greatest shortage of aeronautical engineering professionals.
According to Armando Castelar Pinheiro, economist and professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), who holds a degree in electronic engineering from ITA, a master's degree in mathematics from the National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics Association (Impa) and a doctorate in economics from the University of California, “ Brazil runs a serious risk of setback and disruption of its aerospace and defense sector, threatening not only the survival of companies in the sector, but also jeopardizing all the investment that the country has made in its development over decades”.
Embraer has fought against this attraction of professionals by offering higher salaries and benefits to strategic positions. However, Embraer cannot compete with Boeing, which has notorious economic power.
Boeing 737 MAX 8
Image: Boeing
Rafael Ramos
Aviation enthusiast from an early age, he had his first contacts with the area developing that good old habit of spending dozens of hours in front of the screens of Micrsoft Flight Simulator and other simulators. With a solid background in various technological areas, including engineering and chemistry, Rafael has rejoined aviation as editor and author of articles and materials on our portal, providing invaluable help to the dynamics and expansion of the website and the aeronautical community, bringing us the news and updates so indispensable for us to remain current in our area of operation.
   
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