The world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing, announced Thursday that it would move its global headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, after working on a deal with Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) and Senator Mark Warner (D).
According to a Virginia state official, Governor Glenn Youngkin has a personal relationship with Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun and has been working on a deal since last year.
In a company news release, Calhoun thanked Gov. Youngkin for his partnership and Sen. Warner for his support.
“We also want to especially thank Governor Youngkin for his partnership, and Senator Warner for his support as we worked through the process.”
In addition to designating Northern Virginia as its new headquarters, Boeing plans to develop a research & technology hub in the area to harness and attract engineering and technical capabilities, according to the news release.
Chicago Tribune reported:
Boeing will relocate its headquarters to its campus in Arlington, Virginia, andwill also create a research and technology hub nearby. The move will bring company executives closer to federal officials.
“The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technical talent,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement.
The move will not lead to major Chicago job cuts or relocations, and the company will continue to employ more than 400 people in the city, Boeing spokesman Paul Lewis said. Still, the company will cut office space, needing less as telecommuting has led to more flexible work options.
Boeing is the latest company to shrink its space in Chicago, as the city’s downtown and office market reel from two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December, United Airlines announced it would move 900 employees — more than a quarter of its downtown workforce — from its Willis Tower headquarters to Arlington Heights.
Boeing’s headquarters have been at 100 N. Riverside Plaza since 2001, when Chicago beat Denver and Dallas in a high-profile contest to win the corporate office.
The move brought relatively few jobs, but a great deal of prestige for Chicago. It also came with a price tag: both Illinois and Chicago offered controversialincentive packages scheduled to last 20 years, the Tribune reported at the time.
Boeing will not receive any state incentives from Virginia. A spokeswoman for the Arlington County economic development office did not immediately respond to questions about whether Boeing had been offered local incentives, The Associated Press reported.
Governor Glenn Youngkin released a statement following Boeing’s decision to move headquarters to Virginia.
“Boeing is one of America’s great pioneering businesses and we are thrilled the company has decided to headquarter in Virginia. The decision to call Virginia home shows that the Commonwealth is the premier location for aerospace companies. I look forward to working with Boeing to attract even more talent to Virginia especially given its reputation for engineering excellence. From day one, our goal has been to make Virginia the best place to live, work, and raise a family. I want to thank Boeing, its CEO Dave Calhoun, and its leadership for choosing Virginia.”
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