Boeing to Cut About 5% of Commercial Airplane Jobs as 737 Output Ramp Slows
The company will cut about 2,500 jobs in its Commercial Airplanes division through layoffs and attrition, with notices starting in December, as it slows plans to raise 737 Max production.
Boeing will cut about 5% of the workforce in its Commercial Airplanes division, about 2,500 jobs, as it slows plans to raise production of the 737 Max. The company told employees in a memo on Monday that the reduction will come through a combination of layoffs and attrition, with notices starting in December.
Stephanie Pope, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, told staff in the memo that slower production schedules and lower aircraft output had left the division with more workers than its revised plans require. The memo, viewed by Leeham News and Analysis, said the cut would come through attrition and involuntary layoffs, and that affected employees will begin receiving notices next month.
The decision follows Boeing’s disclosure on its third-quarter earnings call late last month that it was moving more slowly than expected on raising monthly 737 production, with wing production as the pacing item. Boeing is working to hold production at 47 737s a month, a target that has been pushed into 2027, and it plans to raise output beyond that level only when its supply chain and production system allow.
Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg told investors last month that Boeing would miss its 737 production and delivery goals for this year. The 737 Max target of 47 planes a month was pushed to mid to late 2027, and the step to 52 a month is now expected in the second half of 2027. Output increases on the widebody 787 Dreamliner have also been slowed to give suppliers more time to reach factory stability.
A long backlog, and a slow recovery
The cuts come even though Boeing holds a backlog of more than 6,300 airplanes, valued at more than $610 billion. Boeing said it would support affected workers with company-sponsored outplacement services, layoff benefits and employee assistance programs.
“While we have made substantial progress, we have not yet fully recovered,” Pope said in the memo. Earlier this year, Boeing avoided a strike by reaching a new four-year contract with the white-collar SPEEA union, which represents mostly commercial employees.
No layoffs are expected in November, with the first notices going out in December. The company has not said how the layoffs will be spread across the division, or which categories of workers will be hit hardest.
Reporting based on coverage by Simple Flying and Leeham News and Analysis.
