Boeing Slashes 12K Jobs

CEO cites pandemic's 'devastating effect on the airline industry'
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 27, 2020 4:15 PM CDT
Boeing Slashes 12K Jobs
A sign advising that masks are required stands near a gate at a Boeing production plant Tuesday, April 21, 2020, in Everett, Wash.   (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Boeing is cutting more than 12,000 jobs through layoffs and buyouts as the coronavirus pandemic seizes the travel industry. And the aircraft maker says more cuts are coming. The company, one of the nation's biggest manufacturers, said Wednesday that it will lay off 6,770 US employees this week, and another 5,520 workers are taking buyout offers to leave voluntarily in the coming weeks, the AP reports. Boeing had said it would cut 10% of a workforce that numbered about 160,000. A Boeing spokesperson said Wednesday's actions represent the largest number of job cuts, but several thousand additional jobs will be eliminated in the next few months.

The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing’s commercial-airplanes business. The company said additional job cuts will be made in international locations, but it did not provide numbers. Chicago-based Boeing's defense and space division has remained relatively stable, helping offset the decline in air travel and demand for passenger jets. "The COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices," CEO David Calhoun said Wednesday in a memo to employees. (More Boeing stories.)

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