Long Beach : 200 Douglas Employees to Be Moved to Yuma

Douglas Aircraft Co. officials say 200 employees will be transferred from its Long Beach plant to Yuma, Ariz., for flight-testing of the company’s newest commercial airliner, the MD-11.

Three of the $100-million, 323-passenger planes will undergo flight testing for at least a year beginning sometime this spring, Douglas spokesman David Eastman said. The three aircraft are being assembled in Long Beach, where Douglas employs 31,000, Eastman said.

So far, Eastman said, Douglas has 253 commitments for the aircraft from commercial airlines such as American and Delta, as well as Swiss Air and a Chinese airline.

The company’s Yuma facility sits on 46 acres leased from the Yuma County Airport Authority and has 25 permanent employees. The company also owns 670 acres southeast of the airport that is currently used for citrus crops.