(New York) The aircraft manufacturer Boeing is preparing to move its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, near the capital Washington, which would notably allow it to be closer to political decision-makers, said Thursday the wall street journal.
Posted at 2:52 p.m.
The details have not been finalized but an announcement could be made next week, details the economic daily.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request from AFP.
The manufacturer is historically based near Seattle, in the northwest of the country, where its main factories are still located.
But a few years after its merger with McDonnell Douglas, Boeing decided in 2001 to move its headquarters to Chicago, in the northeast of the country, to be closer to financial circles in New York but also to the capital Washington. The city had at the time prevailed over Denver, Colorado, and Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas.
The group subsequently expanded its site in South Carolina, in particular by installing all production of the long-haul 787 Dreamliner there and moved the headquarters of its services activity to Plano, Texas.
In 2017, it also set up the headquarters of its defense activity in Arlington, Virginia, in offices opened in 2014.
The move, if confirmed, would come in a turbulent period for the group, much more watched by the American authorities since two fatal accidents involving its 737 MAX plane in 2018 and 2019.
For Michel Merluzeau, of the specialized firm AIR, the announcement of the move of the headquarters, if confirmed, would not be a big surprise.
“It would allow the group to be closer to decision-makers, whether it’s the aviation oversight authority, the FAA, the Department of Defense or Congress,” he says.
“The headquarters of Boeing Defense is already installed in Arlington, it follows an operational logic,” he adds, pointing out that other defense groups, including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, are also installed near the capital.
In addition, advances the expert, the building where Boeing is installed in Arlington has free space there, where the staff currently installed in Chicago could easily settle.