The Boeing Co. announced plans to send 757 fuselage fabrication to Wichita and tapped an Italian company for other work on the 757 fuselage. The move will cut 500 Puget Sound jobs over two or three years. Boeing unions worried about what's next Talk about moving wing production on the new 747X airplane to Japan and consolidating the company's Renton and Everett facilities has Boeing's unions on edge, particularly after this week's announcements. Job losses at Boeing won't harm area, could help Four economists say the loss of 1,000 Boeing jobs here won't hurt the region, and two say the losses could actually benefit both the company and the Puget Sound area. But observers agree that its contribution to Washington state trade should not be diminished as long as it builds and sells jetliners here.
Timing is everything.
It would be heavier, wider, longer and capable of carrying twice as many people as the reigning jumbo, the Boeing 747-400. It also would be the first jetliner with a true two-story passenger cabin. Most of Boeing's recent moves locally involved selling unneeded property. But the economy continues to bubble along with no sign of bursting any time soon, according to figures compiled by The Seattle Times. And watching it, you can see why Airbus Industrie, the European aircraft consortium, has emerged as such a strong competitor to Boeing.