Boeing invests $1 bn to boost 787 production

NEW YORK: US aerospace firm Boeing will invest $1 billion to ramp up production of its 787 Dreamliner aircraft in South Carolina, the company said in a statement.

Boeing has been plagued by production quality problems and recently endured a strike that lasted more than 50 days and paralyzed two crucial factories.

In October, Boeing unveiled plans to reduce its global workforce by 10 percent over the coming months, without giving further details.


In a statement late Thursday, the company announced the $1 billion investment in its non-union facilities in North Charleston, where it said 500 jobs would be created over the next five years.

The aim is to increase production of the 787 Dreamliner to 10 every month by 2026, Boeing said.

About 33,000 Boeing workers in the US Pacific Northwest walked off the job in September, sparking the costliest strike in the United States this century.

Production of the 737 MAX -- Boeing's best-selling plane -- as well as the 777 jumbo jet, the 767 and several military programs were frozen.

Only production of the 787 Dreamliner continued at the unaffected South Carolina facility.

The plane maker announced Tuesday that it had resumed production of the 737 at its plant in the Seattle area, with the production of the 777, 777X and 767 models set to restart in the coming days.

At the end of November Boeing had an order book of more than 6,200 aircraft.