Boeing announced plans to lay off more than 2,200 workers in Washington and Oregon as part of a broader effort to cut 17,000 jobs, or about 10% of its global workforce.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filing with the Washington State Employment Security Department, 2,199 workers in Washington and 438 employees who are part of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace union will be affected.
Among these, 218 are engineers and 220 are technicians.
The layoffs officially take effect on December 20. Layoff notices began going out last week, with affected workers remaining on Boeing’s payroll until January 17, 2024, to comply with federal notification requirements.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers confirmed that 111 members in its St. Louis District Lodge 837, primarily involved in making components for the 777X program, also received notices.
The layoffs come during a challenging period for Boeing. The company is facing significant debt, ongoing safety concerns related to its aircraft, and disruptions caused by strikes at its manufacturing plants. A recent strike by 33,000 West Coast workers halted the production of many commercial jets, including the 737 MAX, one of Boeing’s best-selling models.
Last October, Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg said that while the company plans to avoid removing personnel directly from production lines or engineering labs, cuts were necessary to streamline operations. Industry analysts have observed that the reductions appear targeted at non-production roles, including design and support functions.
Reactions to the layoffs have been mixed. Some workers expressed concerns about the increased workload for remaining employees. One engineer in Boeing Defense, Space & Security reported that nearly his entire team of 12 was laid off, while another stated she was the only one from her 20-person team to receive a notice.
A former Boeing employee who was also let go described the layoffs as an opportunity to remove underperforming staff, stating, “There are a lot of people at Boeing who are not being productive or essential.”
