Boeing will shift 650-plus Renton engineers to Everett

Boeing plans to transfer between 650 and 750 engineers from Renton to its Everett plant this year.

The engineers are currently in a building close to the Renton plant, but they work on Everett-based projects.

The move does not affect 737 program engineering teams, which will remain in Renton beside the 737 final assembly line.

Announcing the transfer in an e-mail to managers last week, Mike Denton, Boeing's vice president of engineering, said the engineers will be moved in phases, starting by the end of March. All are expected to be transferred by the end of September.

He said the move is intended to promote "closer collaboration" among engineers working on Everett-based programs, including the next derivative of the 787 Dreamliner and the passenger version of the new 747-8 jumbo jet.

Denton added that "the move also will help us cut facilities costs by contributing to reductions in the Boeing footprint" in the South End.

Other Boeing employees will transfer from leased properties scattered around South King County into the seven-story building on 6th and Park that will be vacated by the engineers, said company spokeswoman Liz Verdier said. This will allow Boeing to give up some leases on other properties.

Alex Pietsch, administrator for Renton's Community and Economic Development, said Boeing has told him that there will be no net job loss in the city.

"These Boeing cities, we're sort of used to the ebb and flow of Boeing employees that have moved from time to time," Pietsch said. "It's one of the reasons we've worked hard to diversify our employment base here."

Bill Dugovich, spokesman for Boeing's white-collar union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), said the union is "extremely concerned about the impact on our members — the increase in commute times for our people."

Denton's e-mail message acknowledged that will be an issue for workers being transferred.

"We recognize that the move will present challenges for people whose commutes will be longer, and we didn't make this decision lightly," Denton wrote.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com