Boeing’s much-delayed new 737 line in Everett shows signs of life
Boeing has begun hiring for the long-discussed North Line in its Everett factory, a fourth 737 production line that is earmarked for the larger Max 10 variant.
The company has not set an official deadline for when the production line will be up and running, and declined to answer questions about its plans. The timeline will in part be dictated by regulators, who would need to certify the new Max model before Boeing kicks off production.
But Boeing posted job listings this month for first, second and third shift managers for the nascent North Line, a sign the company is bolstering its Puget Sound workforce for the opening.
The new hires will start in Renton, where Boeing currently produces its 737 M ax planes, before moving to Everett, the listings say.
The job ads are likely welcome news to Everett’s Boeing community, which has seen its work dwindle over the last several years.
Considered the largest manufacturing building in the world, the Everett site’s main assembly building covers more than 98 acres. It opened in 1967 to produce Boeing’s Queen of the Skies, the 747. Later on, workers there built the 767, 777 and 787.
Boeing moved all 787 production from Everett to North Charleston, S.C., in 2021, and stopped producing the 747 in 2023.
The plane that was meant to fill that production space, the 777X, has yet to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration, leaving much of the sprawling Everett factory empty.
On top of that, Boeing plans to end 767 production next year, meaning one less work package for the Everett factory.
FedEx and UPS are the only commercial customers for the 767 freighter, though Boeing also produces some 767s to sell to its defense division to make the KC-46 tanker. It plans to continue producing the military derivative, the company said in 2024 when announcing its plans. Boeing had expected to shutter the 767 program in 2028 but pushed the timeline up as part of sweeping cost-cutting reforms, including an effort to cut 10% of its workforce.
“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” CEO Kelly Ortberg wrote in a letter to employees at the time. “Restoring our company requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.
Boeing announced its plans for the North Line in 2023, saying at the time it would capitalize on the “availability of highly skilled workers and factory space.” The North Line will not replace the three M ax lines in Renton but will expand Boeing’s production capacity for its most popular plane.
Boeing initially forecast the North Line would be up and running in mid-2024, but a midair panel blowout that January slowed Boeing’s Max production and changed its trajectory as it was still recovering from two fatal 737 Max crashes more than six years ago.
The FAA capped Boeing’s monthly Max production after the blowout and left that threshold in place until Oct. 2025, when it allowed Boeing to move from producing 38 Max planes per month to 42.
Boeing used some of the extra space in Everett to set up a so-called shadow factory to repair more than 100 Dreamliners after the manufacturer found small gaps at the fuselage joins. Boeing completed the rework and closed the shadow factory last February.
In May, Ortberg told investors the company’s planned North Line would be used for the MAX 10 because the model “has the most complexity” and would likely require a slower rate of production.
Clearing the Max 10 to a separate line would allow Boeing to keep its other three Max production lines in Renton moving smoothly and expeditiously, Ortberg said.
Boeing executives and spokespeople have said the decision to start producing the Max 10 and other aircraft awaiting certification ultimately lies with the FAA, and that the company will not rush the regulatory process. It expects the 777X will enter service in 2027 and two Max variants, the 7 and 10, will be certified this year.
The job ads for the North Line come as Boeing reportedly moves one step closer to Max 10 certification, which has been delayed as the company works through an issue with the engine anti-ice system. The FAA recently cleared Boeing to move to the second phase of flight testing for the Max 10, according to Reuters and trade publication the Air Current.
Scott Hamilton, an aviation analyst with Leeham News, wrote in a blog post Tuesday he expects Boeing could activate the North Line as early as midyear. He expects Boeing will first use the new production line for the M ax 8 and Max 9, as the company awaits certification for the long-delayed Max 10.