Scott Nicholas
Iridium will move to absorb the majority of Boeing‘s team of workers who provide operations and maintenance support to Iridium satellites beginning Jan. 3, 2017 as part of an insourcing agreement signed between the two companies.
Both companies restructured their current partnership as Iridium prepares to launch and transition into the NEXT satellite broadband service, the satellite communications firm said Wednesday.
Iridium will pay a $5.5 million fee in two installments to Boeing as a result of changes to their partnership arrangement.
“The Boeing operations team has been an incredibly vital group to Iridium since the year 2000, and we are excited to welcome them into the Iridium employee family,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch said.
“Many of them have been supporting Iridium since the launch of Iridium’s original network, and it is only fitting that they join Iridium as employees to ensure the successful operation, maintenance and development of our next-generation global network.”
Mark Spiwak, president of Boeing’s satellite systems international business, said the transition effort will help ensure continuation of operational and ground support for Iridium’s current and next-generation constellation of satellites.
Iridium also intends to sign a new development services contract with Boeing that will allocate some of the latter’s personnel to efforts related to the design and expansion of NEXT service offerings.
