In a blow to Boeing and the state economy, Northrop Grumman and the maker of Airbus planes landed a coveted $35 billion contract to build military refueling planes, according to the Associated Press. Last August, AWB president Don Brunell wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times supporting Boeing. Brunell said:
A Boeing tanker contract would support 44,000 jobs — 9,000 in Washington state alone. In addition, Boeing's bid will lead to the hiring of hundreds of subcontractors, spreading the work nationwide.
Noting the subsidies the Airbus group received, Brunell made this point:
If the U.S. government and the Air Force award contracts to companies that receive illegal subsidies and distort the market, then they are turning their backs on the global economy as well as local businesses and punishing those who play by the rules.
Brunell, in a press release today, concludes:
“We are especially disappointed because securing the contract meant jobs in Washington and the United States. Now, Airbus and Northrop-Grumman will share the work between other states and Europe. In our judgment, those jobs belonged in the Puget Sound area, not in other states or overseas."
Right.
