This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
As many as 300 jobs could leave Washington after Boeing announced plans to consolidate engineering work on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina.
When finalized, Boeing would move 300 jobs from Washington to South Carolina, a non-union state. Boeing engineers are currently represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), but Boeing’s contracts with that union expire this October.
Boeing has been migrating work on the 787 to South Carolina for roughly 20 years, previously shifting all final assembly work to its plant in North Charleston five years ago. Boeing increased its South Carolina workforce by about 10% in 2025 to 9,059, according to Reuters.
The company’s total workforce grew by 5.5% in 2025, despite Washington’s Boeing workforce dropping by 4% last year.
“SPEEA and Boeing had a meeting of our Joint Workforce Committee on Thursday, January 29th,” SPEEA Executive Director Ray Goforth stated. “The committee’s purpose is for Boeing to provide SPEEA with guidance on how company decisions impact our membership, including any possible work movement. At that meeting, Boeing informed SPEEA that there were no company decisions in the foreseeable future that would impact work statement or employment levels for SPEEA members.
“Thus, it was with great surprise and disappointment that Boeing unilaterally announced to our members the very next morning that the remaining 787 engineering work would be moved to South Carolina,” Goforth continued. “The failure of the company to honor its contractual obligation to notify us of such decisions is profoundly disappointing. Worse yet, the company has not yet answered basic questions about timing and process of the move.”
Boeing told The Seattle Times at the time that the decision was a cost-saving measure, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent slowdown in air travel.
“Our members have very legitimate concerns about their future with the company and how long they can expect to earn a paycheck in their current roles,” Goforth said. “The indifference to these concerns evidenced by how this decision was announced casts a pall over upcoming contract negotiations.”
The airline manufacturer maintains approximately 65,000 workers in Washington, compared to 9,000 employees based in South Carolina.
“As we continue to strengthen Engineering to support our programs and customers, we are hiring a significant number of engineers in Puget Sound to support commercial airplane programs, including the 737 North Line and continued execution on our development programs, as well as in South Carolina to support planned 787 rate increases,” a Boeing spokesperson told KIRO Newsradio. “These engineers will be co-located with the programs they support to ensure collaboration and support next to the airplane.”
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