"When people stop buying them (717s), we will shut it down.
There are ongoing campaigns. If those are successful, it will
continue on. I'm not trying to be flip or glib about it at
all."
Source: Boeing CEO Harry Stonecipher, speaking in
January about the troubled 717 production line. Orders for Boeing's
smallest commercial offering are down and now the company wants to
take a $400 million charge-off for marketing efforts that appear to
be making little headway. The charge-off could mean the beginning
of the end of the aircraft line, which is based in Long Beach (CA)
and could mean pink slips for many of the company's 14,000 workers
there.