A decision about where Boeing will construct its 777x aircraft is expected in the next few months The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
"We have a number of alternatives," Jim McNerney, chairman and chief executive told The Journal. "That happens. It is true to say that we wouldn't expect to see orders like that [again] for a number of years."
The news comes after Middle East airline carriers requested versions of the jetliner totaling $100 billion Sunday, and a deal to keep production in the company's base at Puget Sound was turned down The Journal reported.
The International Association of Machinists decision Thursday to not accept terms the which would have made their healthcare more expensive, eliminated their pension, and give Boeing a 20 year timeframe to construct the transporter at the manufacturer's headquarters in Seattle has set back the process of the deal going forward.
"We are very disappointed in the outcome of the union vote," Ray Conner, chief executive at Boeing Commercial Airplanes said in a statement Reuters reported. "Without the terms of this contract extension, we're left with no choice but to open the process competitively and pursue all options for the 777X."
Boeing is currently considering locations in Charleston, S.C., Huntsville, Ala., Long Beach, Calif., Philadelphia and St. Louis the company said in a memo last month Reuters reported. Long Beach is a front runner however.
"The region has a critical mass that can support aerospace firms," Robert Kleinhenz, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp told The Los Angeles Times.Thursday. "The communities here in Southern California know how important the aerospace industry is to the local economy."
A handful of positions have preliminarily been shifted from Seattle to Long Beach The Times. The company also expects to bring 375 people to the city within a year's time according to a July announcement.
The company also anticipates bringing 300 additional jobs, and building a new engineering design center for making aircrafts for public use.
