Some investments start off small – for example an employee can request that Boeing match a single gift of $25 to their favorite nonprofit. But those modest matches can and do add up quickly. In 2018, Boeing spent millions of dollars matching the donations employees made to nonprofits in Washington.
But those charitable investments are just one facet of Boeing’s annual giving in Washington. Recent calculations show Boeing invested $14 billion in Washington state in 2018. It’s a figure that includes billions of dollars of expenditures for payroll, supplier purchases and capital investments in the state along with charitable giving and workforce development.
Highlights of Boeing’s 2018 investments in Washington include the following:
(1) Boeing spent more than $8.5 billion on Washington payroll
This figure includes wages and the 2018 bonus employees received. The average wage for employees in the state last year totaled more than $124,000. That’s more than $60,000 higher than the average wage for Washington residents in 2017 – the most recent year for which state data is available.
(2) Boeing spent more than $5 billion on Washington suppliers
Boeing spent more than $5 billion in 2018 with approximately 1,500 suppliers and vendors in Washington. Those suppliers and vendors can be found in nearly every corner of the state.
(3) Boeing, its employees and retirees contributed more than $50 million to community organizations in Washington.
Boeing’s charitable investments in Washington are focused primarily in areas of education, workforce development, veterans and the environment. Additionally, Boeing matches not just cash donations employees make to nonprofits, but also matches the hours employees spend volunteering at local nonprofits. In 2018, employees volunteered 250,000 hours at Washington nonprofits, which resulted in more than $2.5 million in cash contributions to those organizations.
(4) Boeing spent more than $600 million in capital investments
Boeing invested more than $600 million on new facilities and equipment or upgrading and improving existing ones. These investments include factory transformation work underway in Everett, Renton and Fabrication sites around Puget Sound.
(5) Boeing invested $31 million in education benefits for Washington employees
Boeing’s Learning Together Program (LTP) provides tuition assistance for Boeing employees who have accrued 12 months of company service and attend approved colleges or universities to pursue applicable fields of study. Thousands of employees utilize this market-leading program every year.