Boeing selects engineers in S.C., other areas besides Washington to design new 777X jet

The Post & Courier
Warren L. Wise
October 30, 2013

Engineers from South Carolina, four other states and Russia will handle detailed design work on Boeing’s new 777X passenger jet, not those in Washington state where technical experts have helped design the company’s aircraft for decades.

Engineering teams in North Charleston; Huntsville, Ala.; Long Beach, Calif.; Philadelphia; and St. Louis have been selected, Boeing South Carolina spokeswoman Candy Eslinger said. The design center in Moscow will also play a part.

The role of Seattle-area engineers was not included in memo sent to engineers Wednesday.

“At this time, no decisions have been made about 777X design or build in Puget Sound,” Eslinger said.

The wide-body, long-range 777 passenger jet is currently built in Everett, Wash., near Seattle. The newer version, the 777X, a wider, longer-range, more fuel-efficient aircraft, is expected to begin production in 2017 or 2018. The first plane could take flight by the end of the decade.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes recently established multiple engineering design centers, including North Charleston, as part of its long-term plan to support the Chicago-based aerospace giant’s growth and competitive strategy.

“BCA will utilize these engineering design centers, as well as engineers from non-BCA sites, to design the 777X,” Eslinger said. “Much of the detailed design will be carried out by Boeing engineering teams in Charleston (and other cities).”

Aviation analyst Scott Hamilton labeled the move part of Boeing’s continuing fight with the aerospace engineering union.

“This is more of their war against SPEEA (Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace),” Hamilton said. “Boeing has been moving jobs out of Washington state, and it continues to do so.”

The 777X decision comes on the heels of a protracted contract dispute with the engineers’ and technical workers’ union in Washington, California, Utah and Oregon this year that split the membership on a contract and authorization of a strike.

The head of the engineering union said he doesn’t expect the decision to adversely affect work in Everett.

“It’s not unexpected that the 777X effort will be spread out to different locations, but I still expect much of the design and integration to take place in Washington state,” said Tom McCarty, president of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.

Boeing has not decided where it will build the new 777X, but industry insiders say three sites are in the mix: Everett, non-unionized North Charleston and an undisclosed site in the Southwest.

Boeing is in the process of buying 267 acres at Charleston International Airport for future expansion, but it has not said what it intends to do with the property.

Boeing is expected to launch the much-anticipated redesigned aircraft at the Dubai Air Show Nov. 17-21. A decision on where to build the 777X could be made by year’s end.

Boeing currently builds the 787 Dreamliner at its North Charleston campus, where it employs 6,100. It also plans to hire 2,000 more and invest another $1 billion by 2020 in an incentive deal with the state announced earlier this year.

Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524 or twitter.com/warrenlancewise.

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