Boeing moving 1,600 jobs from Huntington Beach to other SoCal locations

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. -- Boeing Co. plans to move 1,600 jobs from Huntington Beach to plants in three other Southland locations as part of a larger effort to boost efficiency, the company said.

The Huntington Beach positions will move to El Segundo, Long Beach and Seal Beach. About 500 of those jobs will move to St. Louis, and 400 will move to Huntsville, Alabama.

The company also plans on moving an unspecified number of jobs from Kent, Washington, to nearby Tukwila, Washington.

In addition, Boeing will close a plant that employs 290 people in in El Paso, Texas, and another that employs 70 people in Newington, Virginia.

The company said the moves will reduce facility space by about 4.5 million square feet.

The Huntington Beach plant will remain open, but Boeing spokesman Ken Smith declined to say how many workers will remain there.

Boeing says this is all part of an effort to operate its defense, space and security business more efficiently.

"In order to push ourselves farther and win more business, we need to make the most of our resources and talent," Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a statement. "These steps will help us be a stronger partner for our customers worldwide."

The company said it also will align Boeing Defence Australia, Boeing Defense Saudi Arabia and Boeing Defence United Kingdom into a new global operations group, led by David Pitchforth, managing director of Boeing Defence U.K.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.