Enlarge image
Boeing headquarters in Chicago (archive image): Group management before moving
Photo:
SCOTT OLSON/ AFP
The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is moving its headquarters from Chicago to near Washington.
Not only should the headquarters move to Arlington in Virginia, the group announced on Thursday – they are also planning to open a research and technology center there.
However, a significant presence will also be maintained at the Chicago location.
The region on the outskirts of Washington makes strategic sense "because of its proximity to our customers and interest groups," Boeing CEO Dave Calhou is quoted as saying in the statement.
With the move, the group would bring its top management closer to the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Pentagon.
Boeing's relationship with the FAA has been strained since the crashes of two Boeing 737MAXs in 2018 and 2019.
It had taken the FAA nearly two years to approve design changes that would allow the plane to fly again.
Boeing is also a major armaments supplier.
Competing defense companies such as General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman are already based in the Washington area.
The aircraft manufacturer had always had to accept massive losses in the past three years.
The group closed the 2021 financial year with a loss of 4.3 billion dollars.
The corona crisis and problems with the "Dreamliner" 787 long-haul jet, which led to massive delivery delays, are responsible for this.
Boeing has its roots in the Seattle area and has assembly plants in Washington state and South Carolina.
The company only moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001 after a long search for a location.
sol/AP/Reuters