On Thursday, Governor Gary Herbert of Utah met with executives from Boeing about possibly moving production of its new airplane the 777X to Utah. The company is reportedly considering a number of different states for the production.
Herbert said the state was grateful for the relationship it has with Boeing at the same time it is interested in that growing as well.
Herbert said that one of the best businesses in the country, expanding in one of the best places in the country for business made sense for a number of reasons.
A spokesperson at the Office of Economic Development for the state said Boeing officials asked for the meeting to determine if the state was interested in more work from the airplane manufacturer.
The spokesperson said that the governor was interested in Boeing expanding and that other meetings were not yet scheduled.
No projections on the total number of new jobs that would be made or what the actual economic impact would be for the state were released.
Boeing currently employs over 800 people in Utah and purchased a building of 850,000 square feet in the state last January near South Jordan. At that facility, tail components will be built for the 787-9 plane.
An assembly and fabrication plant is also in Salt Lake City for Dreamliners.
Boeing is thinking of sending jobs to Texas, South Carolina, Utah or other states after a long-term contract was rejected by union workers.
At first, Boeing looked at staying at its Puget Sound facility, but with the rejection of the contract by the union, it opted to review its options for locating the work for the 777X at another location.
The Legislature in Washington recently gave an extension of close to $9 billion in tax breaks for the airline manufacturer that had been set to terminate in 2024 and now will go through 2040 in an attempt to maintain production in the area around Seattle of the new aircraft.
Boeing should spend over $3 billion in production of the 777X, the newest version of the 777, which is very popular. The new version will feature the largest ever built wing by Boeing, reported a news agency in Washington.
