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$4B Jet Order From India Will Save Long Beach Jobs

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A $4 billion order from India for 10 C-17 jets is cause for excitement at the Southern California Boeing plant where the giant cargo planes are assembled.

A plant spokesman and labor leader said Monday they expect the order to save jobs and extend the plant's life.

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Boeing is the largest employer in the city of Long Beach, 25 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. But the impact of the C-17
extends far beyond city borders.

Boeing spokesman Jerry Drelling says it is estimated that manufacture of the plane has a $5.8 billion annual economic impact and there are about 25,000 workers in 44 states whose jobs depend on the plane.

Before India, he says the last of the plant's current orders would have been delivered in December of 2012.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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