Boeing to close 787 surge line to make way for 777X

SEATTLE — Boeing said Friday the temporary extra assembly line in Everett used to build 787 Dreamliners will shut at year’s end and be converted for use in early production of the forthcoming 777X jet.

Two final assembly lines in Everett are producing seven 787s per month. Workers on the temporary line, known as the “surge line,” will transition to the other assembly line, which planned to step up production to match the rate from both assembly lines.

Larry Loftis, vice president in charge of the Dreamliner program, said the move will not result in any layoffs in Everett. According to the latest data provided to the state, the plant employs some 38,000 people, including about 19,000 production workers.

Some workers on the surge line may move to other programs such as 777 or 737, Loftis said.

The surge line was activated in 2012, envisaged as a temporary line that would serve to maintain the planned production rate until the Dreamliner assembly plant in North Charleston, S.C., came up to speed.

Loftis said the line’s closing is a “strong testament to the maturity and the stabilization of the production systems both in Everett and in Charleston.”

The surge line’s last 787 will begin final assembly in October and will roll out of the factory at the end of the year, Loftis said.