WICHITA, Kan. — Boeing is planning to hire hundreds of engineers at its Wichita plant to work on the company's new 7E7 jetliner and on a Navy program to adapt 737 aircraft for use as reconnaissance planes, according to an internal memo obtained by The Wichita Eagle newspaper.
The Wichita plant will hire more than 460 engineers through the end of next year, the memo says.
They'll be hired directly and through contracts with engineering firms, Boeing spokesman Dick Ziegler said.
Eighty-five of them will be added by the end of 2004, Bob Waner, Boeing vice president for engineering, said in the memo.
In 2005, "the ramp-up is very steep," Waner said, adding that the Wichita plant's work force must grow to more than 1,200 engineers.
Less than three weeks ago, Boeing officials confirmed plans for the Wichita facility to rehire about 200 laid-off production workers as the company increases production on the 737.
Waner said the need for engineers will exist even if Boeing sells its Wichita commercial-airline facilities.
Waner acknowledged in the memo that Boeing is seeking a buyer, but "whether we are sold or stay with Boeing, we have a tremendous base of committed work and opportunities for growth."
The Wichita plant will build the flight deck and forward fuselage section for the 7E7, whose final-assembly plant will be in Everett.
Last month, Boeing Wichita officials received a formal "statement of work" to integrate the nose landing gear into the former fuselage, according to the memo.
The company also recently won a long-term contract with the Navy to build "multimission aircraft" based on the 737.
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