Boeing will move its defense unit from St. Louis to Arlington, Virginia. A spokesman Tuesday confirmed the decision, which was made by senior management. Boeing's defense headquarters have been in St. Louis since the 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas.
Spokesman Ken Smith told St. Louis Public Radio about 12 people are expected to move to the Washington, D.C., area next year, while 14,000 employees will stay in St. Louis.
"There will be no change to day to day operations,” Smith said.
Boeing builds F-15 and F/A-18 Super Hornet fighters in St. Louis and in October opened a $300 million facility to build composite parts for the 777X commercial jet.
The company also announced plans in November to move about 500 positions to St. Louis as part of a consolidation of Defense and Space operations. Overall, the transition will take place by the end of 2020 and involve moving a total of 2,500 jobs to three sites including St. Louis. Many of those positions are currently in California.
Boeing describes its Defense, Space and Security division as a $31 billion business with about 50,000 workers around the world.
