Boeing lays off hundreds in Washington and California as part of previously announced cuts

SEATTLE– SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing has laid off hundreds of additional employees in Washington state and California as part of planned reductions that will ultimately shrink the company’s workforce. about 17,000.

Nearly 400 Boeing employees were laid off in Washington state and more than 500 in California, news outlets reported Monday.

The aerospace giant previously announced it would reduce its workforce by 10% in the coming months to try to recover from the crisis. financial and regulatory trouble and a strike of its machinists it lasted almost two months.

CEO Kelly Ortberg said the strike did not cause the layoffs, which he said were the result of excess staffing.

In November, the company began notifying workers who would be laid off. Notices filed with state employment agencies show that the first round of budget cuts affected around 3,500 people across the country, The Seattle Times reported.

The reductions affected people in positions ranging from engineers to recruiters to analysts and impacted Boeing’s commercial, defense and global services divisions.

Boeing said most laid-off employees would remain on payroll for about two months and receive severance pay, career transition services and subsidized health insurance benefits for up to three months.

“As announced in early October, we are adjusting our workforce to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” Boeing spokespeople said of the layoffs.

Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, is present financial problems Since two accidents of its 737 Max airliner killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The company’s fortunes and reputation took a further hit when a the panel tore off the fuselage from an Alaska Airlines plane in January.