Friday was a big, BIG day in North Charleston, South Carolina.
Lots of balloons, noise, celebrities and politicans all smiling and gladhanding, and why not.
One of the bigger local employers had some news to share, and they did it with a bang.
Boeing was investing a billion dollars in a new expansion of its existing 787 line at the facility and would be starting the hiring process for the 1,000 jobs that growth would create.
Boeing on Friday celebrated the groundbreaking of a $1 billion expansion at its Boeing South Carolina campus, marking a major milestone for the 787 Dreamliner program and the state’s growing aerospace industry.
The expansion will add more than one million square feet to Boeing’s footprint in North Charleston, supporting plans to increase 787 Dreamliner production to 10 airplanes per month by 2026. Company officials said the project will create more than 1,000 new jobs in the Lowcountry.
Local South Carolina boy, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, was on hand for the ceremonies and couldn't say enough about the business climate that encouraged the growth.
...“We are proud to work alongside American businesses to build the world’s greatest products," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, "create high-paying jobs, and safeguard our nation’s economic and industrial strength.”
..."The new South Carolina, it's the New South and it's the wave of states where it's easy to do business, have great workforces, or you know, there're states where people are fleeing," Bessent said.
Boeing's 787 has a ton of work orders backlogged, too, so they should be cranking along for a good while.
...Since opening in 2009, Boeing South Carolina has grown into one of the state’s largest manufacturing centers, employing more than 8,200 people across its North Charleston and Orangeburg campuses.
Workers there fabricate, assemble, and deliver the 787-8, 787-9, and 787-10 Dreamliners to customers worldwide. With more than 1,200 Dreamliners delivered and nearly 1,000 aircraft in backlog, including 300 new orders this year, the 787 remains the best-selling widebody passenger jet in history.
Last week, I visited my hometown of Charleston, SC, where a new Boeing plant is creating 1,000 jobs. I also toured a rare earth plant in Sumter, SC, which is bringing 300 permanent jobs, with the potential for 3,000 more.
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) November 12, 2025
These are just a few examples of @POTUS' efforts to… pic.twitter.com/834TGejsxM
Growth in SC means nothing is happening elsewhere, and those are the sour grapes being harvested in Boeing's traditional home state of Washington. Angry fingers are being pointed at uber-woke former Governor Jay Inslee and his equally cult-minded replacement, Bob Ferguson, for the continuous bleeding of industry and business jobs from a state once known as a thriving center of industrial aerospace innovation.
So tragic. The end of an era. My people came from New York City and Palo Alto after WW2 to work for Boeing. Settled in Bellevue when NE 8th was a dirt road. 3 generations later and we, and our wealth, has moved elsewhere. Makes sense that Boeing has come to the same decision.
— Leah Drew (@LeahSDrew) November 12, 2025
There were very sour faces in Washington, as even the old 787 assembly line, which originally had been moved to SC, but was kept open for aircraft repairs, finally closed.
Boeing’s build-out of its South Carolina production facility comes at a cost to Washington.
The aerospace manufacturer originally built the 787 in Everett — a tumultuous beginning that earned the first Dreamliners the nickname the “terrible teens” — before expanding production to Charleston in the mid-2000s and opening a second final assembly line there in 2010.
Many saw that decision as an effort to weaken Washington’s unionized workforce, which halted 787 production in 2008 during a 57-day strike.
In 2020, Boeing announced it would consolidate all 787 work on the North Charleston campus, closing the final assembly line in Everett. Company officials said the closure was driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting slowdown in air travel, meaning Boeing needed to save cash.
But some saw the move as another swipe at the union — and a big loss to Washington’s aerospace economy and future.
Gov Inslee, in classic progressive fury, went to war with the company instead of attempting to find some sort of workaround with Boeing,
...Jay Inslee, Washington’s governor at the time, vowed to reassess the tax breaks set up to support the aerospace giant. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat who still represents Everett, said he would work to bring the 787 assembly line back to Washington once the pain of the pandemic had eased.
The space in Everett that line used to fill sits mostly unused today. Boeing turned parts of its Everett plant into what it called a “shadow factory,” where it reworked some 787 planes to fix quality issues that had plagued the planes.
Boeing said in February it had completed the repairs and closed the shadow factory.
Now, with this 1.2 million square feet addition in the latest expansion of the Boeing North Charleston plant, Washington State is assured it will never see a 787 line. The blue aggression got them bupkiss.
...The $1 billion investment will create 1,000 jobs in North Charleston over the next five years, Boeing said Friday, doubling its original estimate when it announced the expansion plans in December. In addition to the second final assembly building, it will fund new facilities for parts preparation and vertical fin paint, upgrades to the existing interiors center and lots of new parking for cars and finished planes.
Once up and running around 2028, it will enable Boeing’s 787 production to push beyond 10 per month — with space to spare.
It's all about the balance. Right for people, and it has to work for those who employ people, too.
In that respect, Washington State ranks near dead last. As of a 2024 survey, it was the worst state to start a business in, and it takes some doing to beat California, so that's saying something.
And nothing good.
- Washington’s statewide minimum wage is the highest in the nation, as is our overtime-exempt minimum salary threshold.
- The B&O tax equates to a more than 15% corporate income tax rate – the highest in the nation, and roughly double the average in most states.
- Washington’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit is the second highest in the nation, and our average unemployment tax rate is among the 10 highest – nearly 60% higher than the national average.
- Worker’s compensation taxes are 33% higher in Washington state than the national average.
- Washington is one of only 17 states mandating paid sick leave.
- Washington was one of the earliest states to implement a paid family and medical leave program, and remains the only state with a long-term care benefit, both collected through payroll taxes.
When you throw in the state being in cahoots with the unions, it's no wonder that employers like Boeing are moving out, even if they have to shuffle off one assembly line at a time in order to do so.
A survey of Washington business owners conducted over the summer revealed that they were more concerned about state taxes, overregulation, and finding qualified, reliable help, rather than a recession or tariffs.
The quarterly survey conducted by the Association of Washington Business found the state’s overall tax burden continued to rank as the biggest challenge facing employers, and by a wider margin than in the spring (58% compared to 52%). Half of the survey respondents ranked health care costs as a major challenge, up from 42% in the spring, with government regulations, inflation, and a lack of qualified workers rounding out the top five challenges. The cost of energy and tariffs tied at No. 6 among overall concerns, AWB said in a news release about its summer 2025 survey.
AWB’s summer survey results are based on 427 responses collected by email from business owners and operators across Washington between July 21-Aug. 6. Most AWB members are small businesses. Ninety percent employ fewer than 100 people, and more than half of the members employ fewer than 10.
“Following a legislative session where the Legislature passed the largest tax increase in state history, it’s not surprising to see Washington employers continuing to struggle with the state’s tax climate,” AWB President Kris Johnson said in the release, calling for a “growth agenda to build stronger communities and stronger families throughout Washington.”
Companies like Boeing leave the state (their corporate headquarters in Chicago moved to Virginia), and other manufacturers like Airbus in Alabama keep expanding elsewhere is a big problem when none of them are moving or expanding IN YOUR state.
They're driving them all off. It's a hostile business environment.
@WaSenate @WAHouseDems @GovBobFerguson here’s where your taxation is leading the state. Loss of jobs. Loss of investment.
— CelticTrader (@CelticTradr) November 12, 2025
But keep thinking you can tax your way out instead of cutting spending and reducing government.
Die-hard green dreamers never learn, and the state of Washington is owned by them.
This is more echo chamber news, Climate Power is funded by democrat leaning groups and dark money so it not more and more clear, just a partisan outlook. Affordable energy? Like the insane gas taxes you ushered in? All of the climate taxes assessed against residents does nothing
— Whitney (@Whitneyp1) November 6, 2025
If Boeing gets its act together, it's good for everyone, and this is really terrific news.
