Boeing to Relocate Headquarters to Arlington

CHICAGO — Boeing revealed today that it is relocating its headquarters from Chicago to Arlington, Virginia, and will establish a major research and technology hub at its new location.

“We are excited to build our foundation here in Northern Virginia,” said Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun in a written statement.

“The region makes strategic sense for our global headquarters, given its proximity to our customers and stakeholders, and its access to world-class engineering and technology talent,” Calhoun said.

With the relocation Boeing joins other federal government defense contractors, including Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman, in having its headquarters in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Boeing’s new research and technology hub in Northern Virginia will focus on developing cybersecurity, autonomous operations, quantum sciences and software and systems engineering, the company said.

This is the second relocation of the  aerospace giant’s headquarters in just over 20 years. It moved its headquarters from its longtime base in Seattle, Washington, in 2001.

U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said Thursday that he’s been making the case to Boeing senior leadership to choose Virginia for “well over a year.”  

“Late last year, I was happy to learn that my efforts were successful,” he said. “As the former governor of Virginia, I was proud to secure Virginia’s standing as the best state for business and the best-managed state, among other honors, and I’ve been proud to work in my role as senator to help continue to cultivate the kind of pro-business environment that world-class companies like Boeing need to grow and thrive.”

The state’s current governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin, said he was thrilled “one of America’s great pioneering businesses” has decided to headquarter in Virginia.

“The decision to call Virginia home shows that the commonwealth is the premier location for aerospace companies,” Youngkin said. “I look forward to working with Boeing to attract even more talent to Virginia, especially given its reputation for engineering excellence. From day one, our goal has been to make Virginia the best place to live, work and raise a family. I want to thank Boeing, its CEO Dave Calhoun and its leadership for choosing Virginia.” 

A markedly different tone was struck by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said in a statement, “Chicago is a world-class city and in the last year 173 corporations relocated or expanded here, and 67 corporations have made that same decision since the start of 2022. 

“While Boeing has decided to move their headquarters to another city, they will still maintain a presence in Chicago,” she continued. “We have a robust pipeline of major corporate relocations and expansions, and we expect more announcements in the coming months. What remains to be true is that Chicago is a major hub for global corporations that recognize our diverse workforce, expansive infrastructure and thriving economy.” 

Dan can be reached at dan@thewellnews.com and @DanMcCue