…Some Jobs Go Overseas

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But it’s not only customers that are coming from overseas. More than a third of the aircraft’s components are being built offshore (notably in Japan, surprise, surprise) and that’s set an undertone of grumbling to the jubilation in Washington State, where the aircraft will be assembled. “It’s unfortunate that they didn’t trust us to do more of the assembly,” said Jerald Beal, a shop steward for the Machinists Union Local 751. “We’re not really sure how this is going to play out in the end.” Company spokesman Todd Beckler said Boeing “has not addressed job creation.” Regardless of the precise total of jobs created, both union and company officials believe the Dreamliner is here for the long haul. Designed as direct competition to the Airbus 330 (and a replacement for the 757), the Dreamliner will seat from 230 to 300 people and is predicted (by Boeing) to be 10- to 20-percent more fuel-efficient than existing airliners. Like Airbuses, the Dreamliner will be made mostly of composites.

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