Boeing to transfer all production of the 787 Dreamliner to South Carolina

Boeing said in July that it was considering options to deal with a slowdown in demand for the 787, which led it to cut production. A Boeing spokesman declined to comment on Tuesday about the outcome of the study.

Earlier this year, Boeing said it would reduce production of passenger jets and reduce its workforce by about 10%. As the pandemic worsened in the United States and demand for air travel remained deeply depressed, Boeing said it was weighing cuts in excess of the 19,000 already booked.

Boeing assembled the 787 Dreamliner in Everett, Washington, since the first of the popular widebodies left the line more than a decade ago. She announced plans in 2009 for a second line in North Charleston, SC, a right to work state where attempts to unionize the workforce have been unsuccessful.

Earlier this year, production problems at the South Carolina plant led to a broader review of quality control lapses by US aviation regulators. It is unclear whether manufacturing problems played a role in Boeing’s study of consolidating Dreamliner production.

The consolidation of production of the Dreamliner in South Carolina would mark another step in the move of the aerospace industry from the USA to the southern states of the West Coast. Companies have already lost thousands of jobs in California, while states such as the Carolinas, Florida and Alabama have attracted aerospace companies with less clogged infrastructure and cheaper non-union labor, including an Airbus SE assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama.

Boeing employs more than 7,000 workers in North Charleston, where it also has an engine research facility. This compares to almost 70,000 employees in Washington, including about 30,000 at the large Everett plant.

The Everett plant, where Boeing also produces 767s and 747s, produced about 15 widebody jets per month at its peak, which would drop to about six and drop further with the 747 program that would end in 2022 and production of the new 777X reduced as Boeing delayed first deliveries until 2022.

After increasing Dreamliner production last year to 14 a month – split evenly between Everett and South Carolina – Boeing has reduced production to 10 and plans to make six a month next year.

With the narrow-body 737 MAX stopped for more than a year since two fatal accidents, building and selling another 787s was crucial to Boeing’s financial recovery. The company has orders for 526 aircraft and has already delivered almost 1,000.

The twin-engine plane overcame years of delays and cost overruns to become a best seller and is expected to surpass Boeing’s 777 and Airbus A330 as the most popular wide jet by 2023, according to analysts at Jefferies. Airlines are retiring the older 777s and A330s in favor of the smaller 787s and the Airbus A350.

Boeing had bet on a floating replacement cycle for older jets to boost sales of the 787, just to slow economic growth and then the pandemic to disrupt its plans. He also filed plans for a new midsize aircraft.

Write to Andrew Tangel at [email protected] and Doug Cameron at [email protected]