How to align equal signs with limits?

Two options:

$ a &= b \
&stretch(=)_(a + b + c) c $

$ a &= b \
&=_#box(width: 0pt, box(width: 10em, $script(a + b + c)$)) #h(0.8em) c $

I believe the first one looks better, and the second one is your literal description.