Less than a week after announcing plans to shutter its C-17 assembly plant three months earlier than originally projected, Boeing says it plans on bolstering its workforce in the area and will bring in 1000 engineering jobs to Long Beach and Seal Beach over the next two years.
Boeing signaled its intentions to reinforce its presence in the region Thursday, saying it will slowly add employees over the next two years as part of an expansion of a new engineering design center for commercial aircraft that was established last year. Employees at the center will provide engineering support and solve technical problems for airlines worldwide that fly Boeing jetliners, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“We will be expanding our presence in Southern California to create a site dedicated to a superior customer experience,” Lynne Thompson, a Boeing commercial airplanes vice president, said in a statement. “This move will allow us to tap into existing engineering talent in California to expand on our outstanding customer support and align resources in a single location.”
These hires provide a much-needed economic boost after the aerospace giant said it had begun lay offs of its roughly 2,200 employees who work on the C-17 Globemaster III, which is ceasing operations in Long Beach in 2015. Last year, Boeing also moved around 300 skilled jobs from its Washington operations to Southern California.
Boeing’s move to bring more engineering jobs to the Southland further shifts the region further away from its aerospace manufacturing roots. Long Beach used to be where airliners such as the DC-3, DC-8 and MD-80 were assembled. It was also where, until 2006, Boeing made the 717, a commercial airliner.
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