The Boeing Co. is deciding on whether to move all production of their 787 Dreamliners’ to South Carolina. “All but certain”, Boeing is close their decision to consolidate production of the jetliner and move it to Charleston, S.C.
An official announcement on the move is expected just over a month away from now, by Oct. 28, while keeping employees in limbo on if they have jobs this winter or not. Aviation consultant Scott Hamilton said the company needs to act quickly to cut production levels as the COVID pandemic takes its toll on the airline industry
Boeing Co. released a statement saying they are “studying the feasibility of consolidating 787 production in one location” while keeping “an eye on future requirements.” The statement does not address where production would be consolidated, but experts agree that it’s likely to be Charleston.
“Layoffs will inevitably come as the 787 line closes (in Everett),” Mr. Hamilton said. “In the context of today’s environment, this is a big move.”
Hamilton says the Charleston plant is “the obvious choice” because it is the only plant that builds the 787-10, it’s a non-union plant and it has lower production costs.
Boeing already set in motion it’s process of scaling down production of the Dreamliner from 10 per month to 6 per month by 2022. Scott Hamilton went on to say that the aviation giant cannot make a profit at the lower production rate with two plants still in operation.
“So this is all about stemming the losses, cutting the cash bleed,” he says.
If Boeing were to move all 787 production to South Carolina, that would still leave three production lines in Everett – the 747 (for the time being), the 777 and the 767/KC46 Air Force tanker, but most workers on the 787 line and support team would likely lose their jobs in a third round, or expanded second round, of layoffs, and each worker laid off from Boeing leads to the loss of three or four more indirect jobs in the community.
