Boeing to shift research jobs to South, Midwest

[pstokely]

Source: Seattle PI

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Boeing announced Thursday that it is shifting hundreds of jobs to Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina as part of a restructuring of its U.S. research operations over the next two years.

The Chicago-based aerospace company said the reorganization will result in fewer research jobs in Washington state and California and is being undertaken to better meet the needs of its commercial airplane, military and space and security units.

The announcement comes as those same states, and several others, are competing to assemble Boeing's 777X passenger plane — a much-sought-after facility that could generate thousands of jobs.

Boeing spokesman Daryl Stephenson said the restructuring of the company's research operations has been in the works for several years and is unrelated to the new airplane or Boeing's contract negotiations with a Seattle area machinists union.

Read more: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Boeing-to-shift-research-jobs-to-South-Midwest-5059307.php

[Major Nikon]

1. Race to the bottom

[SoapBox]

15. To the bottom...

Agreed.

[demosincebirth]

2. Ahh, to the anti-union south go the spoils.

[AlbertCat]

11. go the spoils.

Well, the CEO's and upper management are not moving to SC or AL or any of those states with crappy schools and roads and countrified society. They don't want their kids growing up in That! And all the $$$$ will flow out of SC and AL to upstate NY and CT.... or in this case Chicago.... as usual.

[uppityperson]

3. WA to Chicago to the south. For friends nd family who worked and suffered through their

anti-union shenanigans here in WA, fu boeing. You have come a long, negative way, since the 60's.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. And then out of the country altogether.

[warrant46]

9. Off to Mexico next !!

[Populist_Prole]

17. Bingo

SC, Mo, and Alabama are but temporary waypoints on their way offshore. Boeing has often actually said they wish to become a "virtual manufacturer" of aircraft.

[HeiressofBickworth]

5. "chicago-based"

Gagged a bit when I read that. Local gossip has it that Boeing became "Chicago-based" because the new CEO's wife didn't want to move away from Chicago. You know, Chicago, the last outpost of civilization.

[Paulie]

12. I can't argue with your last line.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

6. Sure it's unrelated

I believe that, don't you?

[freshwest]

10. Nah, I ain't buying any of that either! n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. Fine. Repeal all tax breaks that they currently get in Washington.

Exploit the fuck out of them in the meantime. They're short-timers who don't give a shit about their history and community. I figure we have a couple of years before they leave completely so Washington should mine them for every nickel we can get.

Fuck 'em.

[Alkene]

22. Well said. n/t

[hedgehog]

8. Corporate bosses live in a coccon and rarely realize that while their lifestyle tends

to be independent of location, the lifestyle of the average employee can vary widely from place to place across the country. If you're invested in life in Seattle, you're not going to find the same things in St. Louis or Atlanta. Not to diss St. Louis or Atlanta; I'm sure most people who live there would hate Upstate New York, but I wouldn't live any place else.

A two income family may well decide to stay in place. With the extinction of the pension, why would anyone have any loyalty to any particular company these days?

[passiveporcupine]

14. I doubt they are planning on moving very many employees

Unless those employees are willing to take wage cuts.

[jtuck004]

13. Hey, Airbus. We're gonna have some nice empty buildings soon, want to make a deal? n/t

[strategery blunder]

16. Not to mention lots of engineering talent. n/t

[Populist_Prole]

19. Good idea

Airbus has lots of US content in their planes as is. I'd love to see them smoke Boeing in the commercial A/C market.

[KamaAina]

25. Oh SNAP!

[LibDemAlways]

18. Corporate America trying to get

work done on the cheap. Safe bet that they'll be offering rock bottom salaries to new college grads. My husband was laid off from Boeing three years ago when they closed his division. The managers were moved to other locations. The worker bees, especially the older worker bees, got the boot. He was 59. It was downright cruel.

[pnwmom]

20. Officially, they're not shifting jobs. They're ending some jobs in Seattle,

and creating "new" openings in other places.

And, officially, this has nothing to do with unions.

[bemildred]

21. Who cares who builds the planes, and long as they they are cheap. nt

[hack89]

23. None of their military and space work is done in Washington state

they moved beyond just commercial airplanes when they bought MacDonald Douglas and Hughes Satellite systems.

Boeing Military Aircraft, for example, is headquartered in St Louis. It makes sense that they do their defense related research there.

[LongTomH]

24. The South is badly in need of Union organizers

Low wages, poor health and dental health. Yeah, they need to organize all the factories that have been moved South to evade unions.

[Dawson Leery]

26. Nothing was learned from the 787 debacle.