American multinational aerospace giant Boeing plans to cut a significant number of jobs across the globe. Friday the 11th of October saw the announcement from the Chief Executive, Kelly Ortberg, which outlined a planned 10% reduction in its workforce (roughly 17,000 jobs worldwide). Ortberg attributed the move to ongoing financial difficulties which he said had been exacerbated by worker strikes and production delays.
The financial issues are particularly obvious, with major credit ratings agency S&P recently placing Boeing on a “negative” watch. Over 30,000 Boeing workers (mostly machinists) in Seattle have been on strike since the 13th of September and are currently being balloted on a new proposal to end the dispute. As well as the strikes, production issues have been partly attributed to the fallout from the well-publicised door panel incident in January 2024
Further Measures
In addition to the workforce cuts, Boeing also announced that it will stop producing its 767 cargo plane by 2027. Additionally, the launch of its new 777X jet has now been put back until 2026.
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Boeing in the UK
Boeing is an employer of note in the UK with over 4,000 employees spread across 30 locations. This includes one site in Sheffield which is actually Boeing’s only European manufacturing facility (employing 125 people who produce components for its 737s).
Other staff in the UK work on defence contracts (mostly on helicopters) and also in maintenance roles at Gatwick airport. Whilst there has been no formal approach yet to the UK workforce from within Boeing, some sources suggest that the cuts will be more focused on those in the US. However, if the 10% was applied proportionally across all countries, then as many as 400 employees in the UK could be impacted.