BOEING ENTERS CHINA

Welcome to China, Boeing!

Finally, this American based aircraft maker going to China. This will be Boeing’s first overseas airliner assembly plant in China. Based on its business deal, Boeing also will sell 300 new aircrafts to three Chinese companies.

Yet, Boeing has not issued a statement. Nor has the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the union that represents more than 33,000 workers at the company’s longtime manufacturing base in Washington’s Puget Sound region.

It’s something that Boeing has pinned, moreover regarding on the high labor costs. To cut its cost, since more than a dozen years ago, the company moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago; in 2011, it opened an assembly plant near Charleston, South Carolina, where the 787 Dreamliner jet is built. Since 2013, Boeing has shed 6,800 jobs from Washington, although the state still hosts about half of the corporation’s 160,000-person workforce.

Boeing Chicago Headquarter

Another reason for Boeing to come to China is driven by its rivalry with Airbus. Like Boeing, Airbus has set up shop in the American South. To seek new markets and friendly business environments, last week Airbus opened a new factory in Mobile, Alabama. And it turns out that Airbus has a manufacturing presence in China. Moreover, in July, Airbus signed a deal for a second Chinese factory. It’s not only 1 guys, but Airbus has 2 factories in China! The firm already has an assembly plant in Tianjin.

Airbus Plant in Tianjin

China is expected to add more than 6,000 new aircraft worth $950 billion to its commercial fleet within the next two decades, according to Boeing. The new plant in China will manufacture a model of Boeing’s 737 passenger jets.

Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Boeing’s factory in Everett, Washington on last Wednesday. Some employees there are gearing up for a protest as there are no independent trade unions in China. The International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations, recognizes the right of workers to join and form unions of their choice.