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Boeing recently announced that it will shift 300 engineering jobs from the state of Washington to its facilities in Long Beach.

Boeing already has about 1,200 engineers at its bases in Long Beach, Seal Beach and Huntington Beach–of which the company has continually downsized over the past few years. The announcement of the upgrade in position spaces–which also includes a new propulsion operation in South Carolina–is, at least for Long Beach, good news. The Boeing facility near the Long Beach Airport will house engineers from Tukwila as they make the move.

However, not all is entirely well–particularly for many of the engineers in the Puget Sound area who cannot make the move to the California. The Bellingham Herald described many of the 300 engineers as “older with family connections that may make a move to California impractical.”

In an internal note sent to Boeing employees by Vice President of Engineering Mike Delaney last week, Boeing brought forth three specific motivations behind its move: the moves will enable the company to expand their engineering capability; provide the ability to distribute the work within the company more broadly; and propel the company’s ability to attract a “talented engineering workforce” with its newer centers

“Our opportunity for future growth is unprecedented and this helps us be more competitive by building on our team’s talent and capability–across Boeing, the United States and around the world,” Delaney said in a public statement.

The 300 positions are expected to be filled and/or moved to Long Beach within the next six to nine months.

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