Boeing announced Tuesday that it will be closing operations in El Paso, Texas, and Newington, Va., as part of a series of moves to consolidate its defense, space, and security business, according to a company press release. Boeing hopes to achieve greater efficiency through the changes, which will include shifting jobs around a number of its locations nationally. A total of 1,600 Boeing jobs will be moved to Los Angeles County, 500 will shift to St. Louis, and 400 will transition to Huntsville, Ala. Boeing also plans to reduce its total facilities by 4.5 million square feet by 2020. “In order to push ourselves farther and win more business, we need to make the most of our resources and talent,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space, and Security, according to the release. “These steps will help us be a stronger partner for our customers worldwide.” The company is also reorganizing its Australia, Saudi Arabia, and United Kingdom businesses under a single global operations group, to be managed by David Pitchforth, who has been overseeing UK operations.
A new report from the Government Accountability Office calls for the Pentagon’s Chief Technology Officer to have budget certification authority over the military services’ research and development accounts—a move the services say would add a burdensome and unnecessary layer of bureaucracy.
