=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2002/01/15/f= inancial1944EST0428.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tuesday, January 15, 2002 (AP) Boeing will keep 767 tanker work at home, talking with Japan on Sonic Cruis= er KATHERINE PFLEGER, Associated Press Writer (01-15) 16:58 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- Boeing will not export new work on the 767 widebody jet to Japan, company officials said, alleviating concerns raised last month that the company might send part of its new military tanker program overseas. The company has no plans to send new 767 work to Japan, company spokeswoman Virnell Bruce said Tuesday. In December, a week after Congress agreed to spend billions for military versions of Boeing's 767, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. said they were talking with Boeing about taking over new jetliner assembly work. Washington state politicians had lobbied hard for the deal, in part to sustain jobs at Boeing's Seattle-area factories. "The answer is no," the work on the new tanker program will not leave the country, Boeing's top lobbyist Rudy de Leon said Monday. "It is going to go to Wichita, (Kan.). It is going to go to Puget Sound, and it is going to go to a lot of places all over the country" through suppliers, he said. However, it has not been decided where in the United States the work to convert the 767 airframe into a military tanker will happen. Kawasaki and Mitsubishi have long supplied Boeing with aircraft components, including fuselage panels for Boeing 767 and 777 jetliners that are assembled at Boeing's massive Everett plant north of Seattle. Boeing is continuing to talk about sharing work with Japan, where airlin= es have been good Boeing customers for years. In particular, de Leon said Boeing officials are discussing how the Japanese could help with Boeing's planned Sonic Cruiser passenger jet. The airplane, which is still in the initial design phase, would fly close to the speed of sound and enter service later this decade. "I think the company has said that parts of the Sonic Cruiser could be made in Japan, and I think those discussions continue," de Leon said. Before leaving for recess last month, Congress approved the tanker deal. Low estimates suggest it could mean roughly $20 billion for Boeing, though some in Congress say the program could mean at least $26 billion. Boeing's congressional supporters sold the program as a win-win. The Pug= et Sound region -- which has been rocked by job losses, including as many as 30,000 at Boeing -- gets an economic boost with the aircraft construction. And the Air Force gets new aircraft to replace 40-year-old KC-135 tankers. The tankers, which refuel other planes in midair, have proven invaluable in long-distance military missions, including those over Afghanistan. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said her message to Boeing officials was simple when the news of talks with Japan broke. "One of the reasons we had such tremendous cooperation in the Senate and the House was because of the economic impact of the Boeing layoffs," she said. "I think they got it and understood." Critics called the program, which was part of a $318 billion defense spending bill, a corporate-welfare scheme. Among the critics was pork-slashing Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. Boeing is still working with the Air Force on the terms of the tanker contract, including pricing and scheduling options. Unions representing Boeing workers have been complaining that the company is neglecting its domestic work force by choosing to send some production overseas. Machinists union District 751, which represents Boeing workers, was glad to hear the 767 work would stay in the United States. "I wonder if it changed because there was such a big uproar," said the union's spokeswoman Connie Kelleher. =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 AP