Bill to make Boeing pay for cutting jobs proposed in Washington Legislature

OLYMPIA – The Boeing Co. should have to pay a fee for cutting jobs in Washington below what it had in 2013 when the state gave the aerospace giant new tax breaks, a group of Democrats in the state House of Representatives said Thursday.

They unveiled a bill that would require the company to pay $2,500 into a state education fund for each job below the 83,295 it had when the Legislature extended tax breaks to the company valued at $8 billion in an effort to secure construction of 777X jetliner in Washington. That legislation did not require Boeing to keep a certain level of jobs in the state, and since that time the company has cut or moved about 4,000 jobs.

Other states that have granted Boeing tax breaks for building or expanding facilities have required job guarantees, but Washington did not. Rep. Marcus Riccelli, D-Spokane, said he and some others who voted for the incentives in 2013 are having “serious buyer’s remorse” about that decision.

The bill is one of five proposals requiring “accountability” from businesses that get tax breaks, unveiled Thursday by Riccelli and other House Democrats. The fate of those bills is uncertain because Wednesday was the deadline for most bills to pass one chamber after having received a committee hearing and approval.