This was sort of the plan. They are closing the high-quality unionized plant in favor of the low-quality, low-cost plant in the South.

Boeing said Thursday it will consolidate production for its 787 airliner to a single plant in South Carolina, a cost-cutting measure to mitigate losses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move will end the model's production at Boeing's Everett, Wash., facility sometime next year.

The announcement is a double blow for the Everett facility, which famously assembled 747 airliners for decades. Boeing has said it will end 747 production in 2022.

"The Boeing 787 is a tremendous success it is today thanks to our great teammates in Everett," Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a statement. "They helped give birth to an airplane that changed how airlines and passengers want to fly."