LOS ANGELES - Workers at Boeing Co.'s sprawling Long Beach aircraft plant are expecting bad news Friday about the fate of the C-17 cargo plane — and their jobs.
The company is expected to tell subcontractors to stop producing parts and supplies for the massive cargo plane because Congress has not funded enough orders to keep the line going past 2008.
Boeing has been spending millions of dollars to keep the supply line full, hoping Congress would order hundreds more C-17s. The Air Force has already said it does not need more than the 180 already on order, but lawmakers have been pushing hard to keep the plane in production.
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It would cost Boeing about $2.4 billion per year to keep the line going, including payroll and the cost of ordering parts and supplies from a string of subcontractors in 42 states, Nisbet estimates.
The giant cargo plane has been used since 1991 to airlift heavy equipment and transport troops. Supporters say its ability to land on short dirt runways has helped take the load off supply trucks that come under heavy fire in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Production could be restarted if Congress approves funding, which could happen as early as next month. But restarting the line would be costly and add millions of dollars to the cost of each plane — about $154 million each.
The C-17 plant is the last major airplane factory left in Southern California, which once was a center for aircraft production. Earlier this year, Boeing delivered its last 717 passenger jet, also built in Long Beach.
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