ST. LOUIS _ Boeing is relocating its defense unit headquarters from St. Louis to the Washington, D.C., area.
Chicago-based Boeing has its Defense, Space & Security unit headquartered in north St. Louis County and employs 14,500 people in the area.
A small number of Boeing executives and about 50 support staff currently based in St. Louis will relocate to Boeing's existing office in Arlington, Va., where the Defense, Space & Security unit will be based effective next month, Boeing spokesman Philip Carder told the Post-Dispatch Tuesday, adding some executives will remain in the St. Louis area.
"We continue to expand our leadership presence in the (Washington) area to increase customer engagement in a highly competitive market," Carder said.
Boeing Defense, Space & Security president Leanne Caret is slated to begin working from the D.C. office on Jan. 3. Caret was tapped to lead Boeing's defense, space and security business earlier this year.
"There were will no change to the day-to-day operations at the St. Louis site," Carder said.
The move has been under consideration for several months, according to industry publication Defense One, which first reported on the move.
The move puts Boeing's executives closer to decision makers in Washington. Its major competitors, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, are both based in Washington suburbs.
The headquarters announcement comes almost exactly 20 years after Boeing announced it was buying St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas. The $13.3 billion merger, first announced on Dec. 15, 1996, was finalized in 1997.
McDonnell Douglas traced its start to the 1939 launch of McDonnell Aircraft Corp. at Lambert Field, St. Louis' main airport, by aviation pioneer James S. McDonnell.
Production of Boeing's F-15, F/A-18 and EA-18G fighter jets is based in St. Louis, in addition to advanced weapon systems, new product development, and composite components for the new 777X commercial airplane.
While the headquarters move means the loss of some local jobs, last month Boeing announced it plans to move 500 jobs to its north St. Louis County campus from California as part of a consolidation of its Defense, Space & Security business.
"Boeing's commitment to the St. Louis region remains strong," the company said in a statement.
Congressional staffers in the Missouri delegation said it was unlikely that the move was related to Trump's recent statements about the company, noting that moves like this would be months in the making. Boeing officials individually briefed members of the delegation before the announcement.
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said that, in total, Boeing still has put more jobs in the St. Louis region in recent months than have left, citing the recent announcement of 500 new jobs.
"In our view, Boeing has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the St. Louis region, with net-gain of 450 new local jobs, and the opening of its Compsite Center, in 2016 alone," McCaskill spokesman John LaBombard said. "Clearly they remain committed to our state."
