John Slattery leaves Embraer for GE Aviation

Embraer has announced a restructuring process of its commercial aviation business with the announcement that Arjan Meijer will become the new President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation succeeding John Slattery. Arjan will report directly to Embraer President and CEO Francisco Gomes Neto, and the move will be effective immediately.

John Slattery is leaving Embraer to become the CEO of commercial and military aircraft engine giant GE Aviation on 1 September, and will replace David Joyce, who announced his retirement in June. Slattery joined Embraer in July 2016 and has been leading Embraer Commercial Aviation. Prior to that, he was the business unit’s Chief Commercial Officer since November 2012.

“John has played a central role at Embraer during a challenging time, and we thank him for his dedication and tireless service to the company, as well as its customers, employees, and partners,” said Alexandre Silva, Embraer Chairman of the Board. “Fortunately, the industry will keep counting on him as he will continue to work in the aviation sector.”

Slattery will take over GE Aviation’s Evendale, Ohio-based division as the site recovers from a significant drop-off in demand for new aircraft. “This is a time of unprecedented change in the aerospace industry, yet also an opportunity to re-imagine the future of flight and how we can best serve our customers,” he said in a statement.

Slattery will face a significant number of issues in what was expected to be the resilient backbone of GE’s renovation. However, as the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns took effect, GE Aviation has had to reduce its workforce twice, with up to 25% pre-crisis staff let go. The division has unveiled more than US$1 billion of cost actions and more than $2 billion of cash actions that will impact 2020, primarily in the second half of the year. At least a third to a half of the cost-saving measures, such as layoffs, will be permanent as the company looks to ramp up digital business operations, spokespeople said 10 June.

“Not surprisingly, our commercial services business has experienced the greatest impact as airline customers take actions to conserve cash, such as parking aircraft while demand remains low or delaying engine maintenance until those engines are needed again,” GE representatives said in an investor update last week.

“We also expect these market dynamics will lead to hundreds of millions of dollars of charges related to our long-term service agreements,” they continued. “We along with many others in the aerospace industry expect that domestic travel routes primarily served by narrowbody aircraft will recover before international travel routes, which are primarily served by widebody aircraft.”