Boeing is heading out of Chicago
Aircraft maker Boeing is moving its headquarters out of Chicago, landing here 21 years after it was hailed as a revolt for the local economy.
Boeing said Thursday it plans to move its headquarters to Arlington, Virginia, near the country’s capital. It is said that the new location will also serve as a research center.
“We look forward to building our foundation in Northern Virginia. The region is strategically significant for our global headquarters due to the proximity of our customers and stakeholders and access to world-class engineering and technical talent, ”said Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeing. The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Boeing said it would maintain a significant presence in and around Chicago’s location, but did not provide details. “We appreciate our continued engagement in Chicago and throughout Illinois. We look forward to maintaining a strong presence in the city and state,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun met with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin and U.S. He thanked Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, for his support. Details about local incentives were not immediately known.
Boeing’s 100 n in Chicago. The Riverside Plaza headquarters has about 500 employees, but the number of people attending at the time of the epidemic dropped dramatically.
The decision draws executives closer to federal regulators and the Department of Defense, which are critical to Boeing’s aviation and defense business.
Headquartered in a small part of Boeing’s operations, its main aircraft manufacturing is still in Seattle. But it was also an important symbol of Chicago’s appeal to businesses. Other corporations then moved their headquarters to the city.
When Boeing relocated to 2001, its executives cited Chicago’s location as helping to establish a more global identity. However, many analysts were perplexed by this strategy. Officials involved in that decision have walked away from the company.
The move received about $ 61 million in state and local incentives, with Chicago winning the competition against Dallas and Denver. Those concessions are largely out of date.
As a result of epidemic pressures and problems with its 737 Max, a jet whose design was involved in two fatal crashes, Boeing announced comprehensive plans to cut its costs in the fall of 2020. He promised to look into every building and lease, but officials refused to talk about the future in Chicago.
Paul O’Connor, a marketing consultant who led Boeing’s local campaign in 2001 as executive director of World Business Chicago, said the decision has drawn the city’s image to large businesses, especially amid headlines about rising crime. “It was the golden hood of a global city,” O’Connor said on Thursday, adding that the news had given him a “pain” of grief.
“He was a great corporate citizen. I think Chicago will miss them, “said O’Connor.
O’Connor said Chicago in 2001 was a time saver for Boeing executives. They can visit Wall Street or Washington and return home that evening due to the constant direct flight. “I think when they first came here, there were different criteria for success,” he said.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a statement about Boeing mentioning the company briefly. She noted that 67 corporations have done so since the beginning of 2022, with 173 corporations relocating or expanding last year. “We have a strong pipeline of major corporate restructuring and expansion and we look forward to more announcements in the coming months,” she said. . “The truth is that Chicago is a major center for global corporations that recognize our diversified workforce, extensive infrastructure and thriving economy.”
Last week, Boeing announced that it lost% 1.2 billion in revenue in the first quarter, down 8% from the same period a year earlier. Affected by high costs, supply problems and production errors, the company has been slow to meet demand for its new 787 passenger jet. It also charged पती 660 million for a deal to build an Air Force One jet for the president.
Downtown Ald. Brendan Riley (42nd) said Boeing’s decision was disappointing but not surprising. Riley noted that in 2001, the city subsidized Boeing with a वाढ 40 million tax increase financing as part of an incentive package.
“That deal expired at the end of 2021. Clearly, Boeing was able to take advantage of the expiration of their Illinois financial incentives to get itself a sweet deal from Arlington, Virginia,” Reilly wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun-Times. “It simply came to our notice then. But, if I’m from Arlington, I’ll make sure it’s a long-term deal because, the moment those terms expire,
