Boeing plans to move headquarters to Virginia from Chicago

Boeing Co announced on Thursday that it will relocate its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, as it seeks to mend relationships with consumers, federal regulators, and lawmakers following a series of crises.

 

Boeing also intends to build a research and development centre in Arlington, Virginia, which is home to the Pentagon and is located over the Potomac River from the United States capital.

 

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia told Reuters in an interview that while the headquarters move ‘is nice for bragging rights,’ the research and development facility ‘may be a longer-term bigger boost to Virginia.’

 

Cost savings and a more hands-on corporate culture, according to people close to the firm, have sparked worries about Boeing’s future in Chicago, and therefore the overall path Boeing intends to pursue as it strives to regain its stride.

 

‘Given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, as well as its availability to world-class engineering and technical expertise,’ said Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun.

 

Boeing has stated that it will keep a substantial presence in Chicago and the surrounding area. ‘We expect additional announcements in the coming months,’ Mayor Lori Lightfoot said of Chicago’s ‘strong pipeline of large corporate relocations and expansions.’

 

Boeing has been seeking to mend fences with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and lawmakers in the United States. Dennis Muilenburg, the previous CEO, was sacked in 2019 after a disagreement with the FAA over the 737 MAX’s evaluation following two catastrophic crashes that killed 346 people.

 

Boeing, a major defence contractor, announced more than $1 billion in charges on its Air Force One and T-7A Red Hawk trainer jet programmes last week. continue reading

 

Boeing already has an Arlington office, which debuted in 2014 and has a lot of vacant space, just a few blocks away from Amazon’s HQ2 project, which is now under development.

 

Boeing’s stock plunged 4.1 percent as American equities fell significantly.