Boeing has announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs in an effort “to align with our financial reality” as the aerospace giant faces ongoing challenges from a major strike and the fallout from its latest safety crisis, The Guardian reported.
The the company also revealed it will delay the first delivery of its 777X commercial jetliner by a year and warned investors of “substantial” new losses in its struggling defence division.
Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new chief executive, acknowledged the need for “tough decisions” and “structural changes”. In a memo to staff on Friday, October 11, he stated: “We need to be clear-eyed about the work we face and realistic about the time it will take to achieve key milestones on the path to recovery.”
Approximately 33,000 Boeing workers in Washington and Oregon have been on strike for a month, halting production of the company’s 737 Max, 767 and 777 jets due to a pay dispute. Negotiations remain deadlocked.
Boeing has had a challenging year, exacerbated by a cabin panel blowout in January during a flight of an Alaska Airlines Max-9 jet, which raised fresh concerns about the safety and quality of its planes. Ortberg told staff that the company “must… reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality” and plans to reduce its total workforce by approximately ten percent, including executives, managers and employees.
Ortberg promised more specific details next week about the impact on individual departments. Following the announcement, Boeing’s shares dropped by 1.6% in after-hours trading.
