Boeing screws Wichita‏

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/us/wichita-clings-to-airplane-capital-identity.html?_r=1

“It’s good for Kansas, it’s good for Wichita and it’s a great day to be alive here and to profess victory,” said Senator Pat Roberts, part of the political team that spent a decade battling on behalf of the company. “Every once in a while the good guys win.”

But less than a year later, on Jan. 4, Boeing executives solemnly gathered here for another announcement. The jobs would not be arriving after all, they said. Instead, they would shut down all of the company’s local operations by the end of 2013.

this is how Boeing leaves Wichita after eight decades as one of its biggest employers and most prestigious brands: in a trail of broken promises and bitter recriminations.

“This is not a cyclical thing,” “This isn’t Boeing cycling down. This is Boeing cycling out.”

Boeing gained a reputation for generous compensation and opportunities for career growth.
Today, a typical airplane worker here earns about $71,000 a year, about 80 percent higher than the average income in the city,

employment in airplane manufacturing here dropped to 29,000 from 42,000 in 2008 — accounting for more than half the lost jobs during that period

For residents, the message seemed unequivocal before the $35 billion contract to build aerial refueling tankers was secured. “Tanker Win Would Bring 7,500 Jobs, $388 Million to Kansas,” one Boeing press release declared.
But when the company concluded that it was prohibitively expensive to stay in the enormous facility — which includes 97 buildings — executives deflected charges of deceit by saying that the issues had not been anticipated. (They didn’t know they had 97 buildings?)