EVERETT — The Triumph Group is closing its Everett operation as the company slashes costs after posting a $1 billion loss in its last fiscal year.
A statement from the company said it plans to shutter the facilityhere around March 31, 2017. It said work done here will be moved to other Triumph sites, but did not specify which ones.
The decision is a loss for Snohomish County, but likely only a minor one.
Triumph’s departure creates something in short supply in the area: vacant industrial land near Boeing. The company has a roughly 150,000-square-foot facility near Paine Field and Boeing’s Everett plant.
“There’s probably half a dozen companies that would be interested in a site that size,” said John Monroe, the chief operating officer of Economic Alliance Snohomish County.
About 200 people work for Triumph Structures-Everett, a subsidiary of Pennsylvania-based Triumph Group. The workforce includes many highly-trained machinists and other production workers.
“Those skills are in constant demand county-wide,” Monroe said.
Triumph came to Everett in 2010 when it bought Contour Aerospace. The operation mostly does work for Boeing’s 747-8 program. In early 2016, Boeing announced a third rate production cut in two years for the 747-8. Starting this fall, Boeing’s Everett plant will go from making one 747 a month to one jumbo jet every other month.
That production rate decrease contributed to Triumph Group taking a $161 million loss for its 747-8 work. In addition to Everett, sites in California Florida, Georgia and Texas work on the program. Triumph substantially increased its involvement in the program when it acquired Vought Aircraft in 2010.
Everett is one of five sites that the company plans to close next year. The company plans to close another five after that. The steps are part of an aggressive plan to streamline the company’s widespread operations. The plan, dubbed “One Triumph,” was implemented by Triumph Group Chief Executive Dan Crowley after his election to CEO in January.
The closures are expected to save $55 million a year and cut Triumph’s workforce by 8 percent over the next year, according to company financial reports.
Triumph Group declined to comment on the specifics of its plan.
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