According to the Commerce Department, the Pentagon plan to curtail production of USAF C-17s at 180 aircraft and store equipment and tooling would drain about $8.4 billion from the national economy—not just Long Beach, Calif., the final assembly area. It will also cause the loss of more than 25,000 jobs nationwide. And, Commerce believes Boeing would sell its Long Beach facility within a few years, so the Pentagon would face a staggering $3.2 billion to set up production elsewhere. According to the Long Beach Press Telegram, the Pentagon requested the study to help determine feasibility of selling older C-17s to commercial aviation firms. An Air Force spokesman told the newspaper that the primary factor in such decisions is requirement, not economics. Lawmakers probably will argue just how much weight the Pentagon should give economics. The Senate late last year voted to sustain additional C-17 production.
Boeing Claims Progress on T-7 and Other Challenged Programs
April 25, 2025
Boeing appears to have become to overcome the problems that led to billions in losses on fixed-price defense contracts in recent years, point the company back toward profitabily, says Boeing president and CEO Kelly Ortberg.