Boeing to Spend $1 Billion on 787 Dreamliner Manufacturing Expansion

Key Takeaways

• Boeing said it would invest $1 billion in expanding its operations in South Carolina, where it produces the 787 Dreamliner.
• The company is looking to increase production of the plane to 10 per month by 2026, with expansions to the South Carolina facilities online by early 2027.
• Boeing has faced a number of production issues this year, including a nearly two-month strike at its Washington facilities.

Boeing (BA) is investing $1 billion in expanding its facilities in South Carolina to ramp up production of the 787 Dreamliner.

The airplane manufacturer said late Thursday that it expects to produce 10 Dreamliner planes per month by 2026, and said the upgrades to the South Carolina facility should be completed by early 2027. The company said the project will create roughly 500 jobs over the next five years.

Boeing has been wracked with production issues this year, from the forced slowing of production following a series of safety incidents to start the year, to a strike at its Washington plants that lasted nearly two months and ended in November.

The company made cost-cutting moves including thousands of layoffs during the strike. Boeing reportedly only recently resumed production of the 737 Max series of planes just over a month after the strike ended, with a current order backlog of over 4,000 planes, according to Reuters.

Boeing shares were little changed Friday morning. They are down about 35% this year.