According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Boeing Co., a leading defense contractor and one of the world’s two dominant manufacturers of airline planes is expected to move its headquarters from Chicago to the Washington, D.C., area.
After a challenging time for the plane-making company, Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with consultant AeroDynamic Advisory, believes the move is intended to bring the company closer to their key customer, the Pentagon, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, which certifies Boeing passenger planes. “Since D.C. is home to their biggest single customer, it makes some sense…”
Boeing already has a large presence in the D.C. area. Its Defense, Space & Security business is headquartered in Arlington. The company has about 2,400 employees in the D.C. region. after Boeing opened its East Coast headquarters in the Crystal City area about eight years ago. However, while the move will bring the company from its current headquarters in Chicago to D.C., it likely would not mean a huge influx of jobs, as they would be bringing their employees with them in the transfer.
Governor Youngkin, a long time friend of many Boeing officials, was pleased by the news, and released a statement welcoming the decision to move to the area.
“Boeing is one of America’s great pioneering businesses and we are thrilled the company has decided to headquarter in Virginia. The decision to call Virginia home shows that the Commonwealth is the premier location for aerospace companies. I look forward to working with Boeing to attract even more talent to Virginia especially given its reputation for engineering excellence. From day one, our goal has been to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I want to thank Boeing, its CEO Dave Calhoun, and its leadership for choosing Virginia.”
This marks the second giant to move it’s headquarters to Arlington, as Amazon also announced their construction of the HQ2 in the area, and has already made it’s mark in the area by contributing $55 million to the area for housing projects. (RELATED: Northern Virginia Housing Project Gets A $55 Million Boost From Amazon)