Boeing to cut some jobs, move others, in efficiency effort

Boeing Co. plans to move about 2,500 positions to other sites, cut 500 jobs, and close two facilities by the end of 2020 as part of an effort to operate its Defense, Space & Security business more efficiently, the company said Tuesday.

About 1,600 positions currently in Huntington Beach, California, will move to plants in three other Southern California locations -- El Segundo, Long Beach and Seal Beach. About 500 positions will move to St. Louis County in Missouri, and 400 will shift to Huntsville, Alabama.

Chicago-based Boeing will close a plant that employs 290 people in in El Paso, Texas, and another that employs 70 people in Newington, Virginia. The company said the moves will reduce facility space by about 4.5 million square feet.

The Huntington Beach plant will remain open. Boeing spokesman Ken Smith declined to say how many workers will remain there.

The company will move an unspecified number of jobs from Kent, Washington, to Tukwila, Washington. The two towns are just 16 miles apart.

"In order to push ourselves farther and win more business, we need to make the most of our resources and talent," Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a statement. "These steps will help us be a stronger partner for our customers worldwide."

The company said it also will align Boeing Defence Australia, Boeing Defense Saudi Arabia, and Boeing Defence United Kingdom into a new global operations group, led by David Pitchforth, managing director of Boeing Defence U.K.