Boeing is spending $1 billion to expand a plant that builds the 787 as it seeks to boost production

Boeing said on Thursday it will commit $1 billion to its 787 Dreamliner manufacturing plant in South Carolina as it seeks to ramp up production after a difficult 2024.

The Virginia-based firm has planned for the investment to go toward infrastructure upgrades at the site and creating 500 new jobs in the next five years.

Boeing announced in a joint press release with the South Carolina Department of Commerce that the outlay will expand its two North Charleston campuses to help support increased production of 787 Dreamliners to meet production targets and a potential future rise in market demand.

The aircraft manufacturing giant hopes to reach a rate of 10 planes a month by 2026, up from below five a month in July 2024.

A Boeing 787 in the factory in Everett, Washington. 

Boeing has struggled to keep up with its order backlog amid questions about its quality control following the Alaska Airlines blowout in January. Its problems were compounded when over 30,000 factory workers went on strike for nearly seven weeks.

The aviation giant has a backlog of around 5,400 commercial aircraft worth roughly $428 billion.

Boeing’s announcement comes as the planemaker faces competition from Airbus, which said in April it would increase its production of its rival A350 jet from 10 a month in 2026 to 12 a month in 2028.

Boeing is facing a troubled financial outlook after a difficult year, in which it replaced its CEO and faced heavy scrutiny from regulators. It posted a loss of over $6 billion in the third quarter of 2024, and during the factory worker strike, it said it would seek to raise $24.3 billion to boost its liquidity. Its share price has dropped 37% since the start of the year.