Report: Boeing may buy Vought plant
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SC keeps eye on aviation jobs, published 06/22/09
Is Vought Aircraft Industries Inc. set to unload its North Charleston operations to Boeing Co.?
The aviation Web site Flightglobal, which is known in the industry for unearthing information about Boeing's business, reported Wednesday that a sale of the 787 fuselage plant is imminent. The report's author, Jon Ostrower, cited unidentified multiple sources who are familiar with the deal.
Dallas-based Vought declined to address any speculation about a sale of its business at Charleston International Airport.
"As matter of public policy, we don't comment on potential mergers, acquisitions or divestitures," said spokeswoman Lynne Warne. "That's just the bottom line."
A spokeswoman for Boeing was not immediately available for comment.
Last year, Boeing bought out Vought's 50 percent stake in Global Aeronautica LLC, which also makes 787 fuselage components at a plant at Charleston International.
According to news reports, a sale of the rest of Vought's local operations suggests that Boeing is eyeing North Charleston for a second production line for its new but long-delayed 787 Dreamliner.
Right now, parts for the lightweight jet are made around the world and flown to Everett, Wash., for final assembly. But the aerospace giant and its Seattle-area unions have a long history of labor disputes, including an eight-week strike last year that caused further delays for the 787 program.
Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
BreezinIAm (anonymous) says...
This is very good news. Welcome (if it happens), Boeing.
July 1, 2009 at 7:16 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MC29461 (anonymous) says...
Hurray for SC and Boeing, but production delays are the primary reasons Boeing wants to place its outsourced production back under their ownership.
Also this article just shows that this reporter does not understand the relentless power that unions have over a large company like Boeing which employees 20 times the number of union members in Washington state or California than in SC.
The union will just demand that Boeing employee union labor in SC or they will strike back in Washington regardless of SC's Right-to-Work employee protection laws.
Boeing and its employees are caught between a rock and a hard place as long as the majority of their employees are in union controlled closed shop states.
July 1, 2009 at 8:05 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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