Much of 777X design work to be outside Seattle

[NEW YORK] Boeing Co has decided to place a significant amount of design work for its coming 777X jetliner in cities outside the Seattle area, where the current 777 was designed and is being built, according to an internal memo reviewed by Reuters and confirmed by Boeing on Wednesday.

"It has been decided that much of the detailed design will be carried out by Boeing engineering teams in Charleston (South Carolina), Huntsville (Alabama), Long Beach (California), Philadelphia and St. Louis," the memo said. The Boeing Design Center in Moscow will also support the design activity.

"However, at this time, no decisions have been made about 777X design or build in Puget Sound," the memo said. The news was seen as a blow to engineering workers in Washington state and a sign that the jobs building the more efficient version of Boeing's best-selling wide-body plane could migrate to lower-cost, non-union states, especially Boeing's production facility in South Carolina.