Boeing creating more jobs in St. Louis
Defense plant to build wing parts for 777X
ST. LOUIS – Boeing will build some wing parts for the commercial jetliner 777X at its defense complex in north St. Louis County, which will eventually create 700 new local jobs, the aircraft maker announced today.
The Chicago-based aircraft giant said the parts will be used by the composite wing center in Everett where the 777X program is located.
To accommodate this new work, Boeing will expand its current composites facility in the St. Louis area, which will begin producing 777X parts in 2017, the company said in a press release.
The expansion plan “is already underway. The design work will really kick into full force in the next few months,” said Chris Chadwick, chief executive of Boeing’s Hazelwood, Missouri-based defense unit, Boeing Defense, Space & Security.
Chadwick was joined by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon at a news conference Monday afternoon to announce the investment.
This new work will create about 700 jobs once the 777X production reaches peak output, which is expected to be around 2020 to 2023, Chadwick told reporters. Chadwick said the company is bringing this production back to the company after having outsourced the work to outside suppliers. Monday’s announcement comes just a week after Boeing announced it planned to move up to 500 jobs to the St. Louis area as it moves defense-related jobs out of Washington state. In the case of St. Louis, the jobs would involve work upgrading and servicing the Air Force’s new fighter, the F-22 Raptor.