Boeing to end C-17 production in Long Beach

Announcement comes less than a week after the 223rd and final C-17 cargo plane was delivered to the Air Force. That's the last airplane manufacturing facility in Southern California (although Robinson Helicopter in Torrance is still around). Boeing had tried to generate sales to foreign governments (it's currently working on an order from India), but the numbers were not enough to keep the operation going. The shutdown, which will be completed in 2015, affects about 3,000 jobs in four states, with the Long Beach plant accounting for roughly a third. Some workers will be transferred to other programs, while other positions will be cut through attrition and retirements. From the WSJ:

"Our customers around the world face very tough budget environments," said Dennis Muilenburg, president and chief executive of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. He said the across-the-board budget cuts in the U.S. known as sequestration have "created significant planning difficulties for our customers and the entire aerospace industry," causing uncertainty that "forces difficult decisions like this C-17 line closure." While Boeing cited sequestration, the Pentagon has made it clear for several years that it didn't require more C-17s. However, lawmakers pushed through more orders to preserve jobs.