Boeing plans 5% cut to commercial airplane workforce
Boeing says it will reduce its Commercial Airplanes workforce through attrition and layoffs as it slows its 737 Max production increase.
By Hana Yoshida · Markets Reporter
2 min read
Boeing commercial airplane layoffs will reduce the division’s workforce by about 5%, the company said Monday, as a planned increase in aircraft production is taking longer than expected. The reduction applies to Boeing Commercial Airplanes rather than the company’s entire workforce, and the company has not said how many positions or sites will be affected.
According to CNBC, the cuts will come through attrition and involuntary layoffs, with employee notifications due to begin in December. Stephanie Pope, who leads Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told staff in a memo that revised production schedules and lower aircraft output had left the business overstaffed, CNBC reported.
Why is Boeing cutting commercial airplane jobs?
Boeing is slowing the planned rise in production while it works to stabilize output of its 737 Max aircraft, CNBC reported. Attrition means jobs are reduced as workers leave and are not replaced; the company also plans involuntary layoffs.
Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg told investors last month that Boeing would not significantly increase Max production until the second half of 2027, according to CNBC. He cited wing production that was progressing more slowly than expected.
The company is seeking to stabilize 737 Max production at roughly 47 aircraft a month and is targeting a monthly rate of 52 in the second half of 2027, CNBC reported. The gap between those rates is the production context for the staffing reduction.
What is known about the planned reductions?
Boeing has not publicly specified a final number of jobs to be eliminated or identified the locations that could be affected, MarketScale and Seattle television station KOMO reported. KOMO reported that the Commercial Airplanes unit employs about 50,000 people, but that figure does not establish how many workers will lose jobs.
The new action follows a separate companywide workforce reduction in late 2024 of about 10%, or roughly 17,000 jobs, according to KOMO. That earlier cut was broader than the newly announced reduction within the commercial-airplane business.
KOMO also reported that Pope said affected workers would be offered career-transition services, layoff benefits and help through Boeing’s employee assistance program. Boeing’s latest plan remains tied to its effort to raise 737 Max output on its revised timetable.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.