JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Boeing Company announced on Tuesday that its F/A-18 structural repair facility at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona is moving to Cecil Field in Jacksonville.

The move will take place in phases throughout 2009 and help Boeing provide comprehensive aircraft support services in one location.

Approximately 60 Boeing employees in Arizona will be affected by the move and have been offered relocation to Florida. Employees who choose not to move will be offered assistance in applying for open positions at the Boeing site in Mesa, Ariz., other Boeing facilities or positions outside the company.

By adding the structural repair facility’s capabilities, Cecil Field will be able to install upgrades, make modifications and perform structural repairs for any model of F/A-18 aircraft.

“We are always looking for ways to reduce costs for our customer, and operating one facility instead of two does just that,” said Larry Sellman, Boeing’s director of F/A-18 Product Support. “We value the work the team has done at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, but this difficult decision made the most business sense for the customer and our organization.”

The facility in Arizona has repaired thousands of flight control surface components such as ailerons, trailing edge flaps and horizontal stabilizers for every model of Hornet and Super Hornet aircraft. Cecil Field, staffed by Boeing and Northrop Grumman employees who upgrade and repair all ages and models of Hornets, has delivered nearly 600 upgraded Hornets to the U.S. Navy and Marines since the facility opened in September 1999.

Global Services & Support, a business of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, operates the two facilities.

Boeing will continue to have a presence at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, where it also conducts AH-64 Apache helicopter flight test operations and training.