The first flight of the Boeing 737 MAX 9, the second version of the MAX airplane, lands at Boeing Field in Seattle on April 13, 2017.
Boeing is set to announce this week that it will consolidate all 787 Dreamliner production in North Charleston, S.C., stripping Everett of its most significant jet assembly line, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday evening.
Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, issued a statement saying that "Boeing's decision to pull its 787 production out of Washington state is shortsighted and misplaced."
The news will be a tremendous blow to Boeing's Everett workforce.
It threatens to leave the largest building by volume in the world -- housing Everett's widebody jet final assembly lines -- almost an empty shell.
Just two low-rate active assembly lines would be left after 2022, building at most five 767 and 777 airplanes a month for several years, down from the 15 jets per month that Everett pumped out a year ago.
Boeing had raised the possibility of consolidation at a single site in July because of reduced production during the COVID-19 pandemic. A decision had been expected as early as Thursday.
South Carolina was heavily favored to win because of lower costs, since much of the plane's fuselage is already assembled there. The state's anti-union culture is another advantage in the eyes of the Boeing board.
In choosing to take the 787 away from Everett, the original assembly site, Boeing ignored pleas from local officials who lauded the Pacific Northwest as home to the best aviation and aerospace workforce in the world.
Larsen promised to try to bring the work back later.
"As the economy comes back and air travel returns, I will fight to bring 787 production back to Everett," he said in a statement.
Boeing spokeswoman Jessica Kowal declined to confirm or deny the Journal story.
"Nothing has changed in what we've said," Kowal responded when asked.
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