Boeing Moving Corporate Headquarters To Arlington From Chicago

ARLINGTON, VA — Boeing is moving its corporate headquarters to Arlington from Chicago, with plans to develop a research and technology hub in Northern Virginia, the company announced Thursday.

Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company and leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems, was founded in the state of Washington and was headquartered in Seattle until its move to Chicago in 2001.

"We are excited to build on our foundation here in Northern Virginia. 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 President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement.

The move to the Washington, D.C., area will put the company's top leadership close to key government officials and lawmakers in the nation's capital. The Defense Department remains Boeing's major customer on the defense side.

Boeing’s move to Arlington confirms the predictions of many who said Amazon’s decision to make Arlington the site of its second headquarters would attract other businesses to the county, including the Pentagon City and Crystal City areas, according to The Washington Post.

The company already operates the headquarters of its Defense, Space and Security division in a large office in the Crystal City neighborhood, near the part of Arlington branded as National Landing, after Amazon made its decision in November 2018 to build its second headquarters in the area.

“Boeing has been a key partner in Arlington’s business community for more than a decade, and we enthusiastically welcome the company’s corporate headquarters to our community,” Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said in a statement Thursday.

Arlington’s proximity to Boeing’s federal customers, as well as the county's commitment to making Crystal City a welcoming destination for employees, residents and visitors, "were key in Boeing’s decision to expand its capacity here," Cristol added.

Boeing employs more than 140,000 people. The company did not say how many employees would work from its new corporate headquarters in Arlington. The company already has about 2,400 employees in the D.C. region, according to reports.

"Boeing is one of America’s great pioneering businesses, and we are thrilled the company has decided to headquarter in Virginia," Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a statement Thursday.

The proposed research and technology hub in Northern Virginia will focus on developing innovations in the areas of cybersecurity, autonomous operations, quantum sciences and software and systems engineering, Boeing said.

"The future of Boeing is digital," said Greg Hyslop, Boeing's chief engineer and executive vice president of Engineering, Test and Technology. "Focusing our R&D and talent development in areas that support digital innovation will fuel the introduction of cutting-edge capabilities. This new hub in Northern Virginia will follow the successful implementation of this technology strategy in other regions."

The company's three business units will continue to be based at their current headquarters, which include: Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, Washington; Boeing Global Services in Plano, Texas; and Boeing Defense, Space and Security in Arlington.

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said Thursday that he had been working for more than a year to get Boeing to move its headquarters to Virginia.

“As the former Governor of Virginia, I was proud to secure Virginia’s standing as the best state for business and the best-managed state, among other honors, and I’ve been proud to work in my role as senator to help continue to cultivate the kind of pro-business environment that world-class companies like Boeing need to grow and thrive," Warner said in a statement.

Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA), who represents Arlington in Congress, said Boeing’s announcement on Thursday is the culmination of years of making Arlington and the Northern Virginia area an attractive place for business.

"I am thrilled but not surprised to hear that they have chosen to move still more good-paying jobs to Arlington, it is a great place to live and work," Beyer said. "Northern Virginia has long been a growing hub for tech innovation and the aerospace industry, and now we welcome yet another major advance in this sector for our region."

Patch editor Dan Shalin contributed to this article.