Boeing Order a ‘Stabilizing’ Factor in Face of a Slowdown

The massive order for Boeing widebody jets announced Monday will help “stabilize” the company’s business in the face of a slowdown in defense aerospace spending, Boeing officials said. Although United Airlines’ plans to buy up to 128 new jets from Boeing will boost employment, the company doesn’t expect a major “surge” in new jobs, according to company spokesman Richard Schleh. “You have to balance this . . . against other activities at the company,” he said, referring to a slowdown of military orders for Boeing.

Chris Longridge, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group executive vice president, said the United order eventually could mean employment for 8,000 to 10,000 people; assembly of the 777 widebody jet would be at Boeing’s Everett plant. About 3,400 are working on the project now. Boeing, which has about 100,000 workers in the Seattle area, has been trimming its work force and new jobs created by the United order could offset that somewhat, he said.

Longridge called the new $22-billion order “mind-boggling.”

The total value of all Boeing’s announced orders in 1987 was $19.9 billion, a company record at the time, he noted.

United and Boeing struck their deal Sunday night, Longridge said, after the airline heard last-minute presentations by Boeing and competitors McDonnell Douglas Corp. and Airbus Industrie.