After nearly a decade in Virginia, Boeing announced on Wednesday that it is moving its Defense, Space & Security headquarters out of the state back to St. Louis. This comes just weeks after new Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger took office, replacing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
In a Wednesday statement, Boeing said that its decision to move its defense headquarters to St. Louis emphasizes company leadership’s “commitment to being present and engaged with teammates who are designing, producing and delivering vital defense and space products and capabilities for customers in the U.S. and around the world.”
The company said that it is progressing on a multi-billion-dollar investment in “the world’s most advanced combat aircraft production facilities,” including in St. Louis.
The change moves the defense headquarters from Arlington, Virginia, back to its former site in St. Louis, where much of the company’s products are designed and manufactured. Boeing’s headquarters was in Arlington, a suburb of Washington, D.C., for nearly a decade, with the company moving in 2017.
Boeing cited leadership proximity to its workers in its reason for the move. (REUTERS/Matt Mills)
Boeing cited leadership proximity to its workers, saying that “by aligning leadership with the workforce and investing in state-of-the-art facilities, Boeing is poised to strengthen its core business and drive innovation in defense solutions for the U.S. military and global allies.”
Steve Parker, Boeing Defense, Space & Security CEO, said that “the headquarters move, coupled with our senior leaders being based at and spending their time at major engineering, production and manufacturing centers across the U.S., reflects our continued focus on disciplined performance across our business.”
“It’s important for leaders to be side-by-side with our teammates, listening to their feedback and acting to remove obstacles as we continue to stabilize and strengthen our business,” added Parker.
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Boeing’s MQ-25 unmanned aircraft system. (Boeing photo by Eric Shindelbower)
