Boeing to cut 10% of workforce, halt most 767 production amid labor union strike
Boeing will lay off 10% of its workforce, approximately 17,000 employees, in the coming months and cut its production amid an ongoing labor union strike.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took on the role of chief executive in August, told staff in a memo Friday that the job cuts would include executives, managers and employees.
"Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together," Ortberg told staff, saying that the situation "requires tough decisions, and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term."
The company has about 170,000 employees worldwide, many of them working in manufacturing facilities in South Carolina and Washington state.
Boeing shares fell 1.1% in after-market trading.
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The company also announced the end of production of its 767 aircraft in 2027, after they completed the current orders for 29 jets.
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They also delayed the rollout of its new 777X to 2026, instead of 2025. The delay comes following the recent discovery of a defective part that grounded test flights earlier this year.
The troubled aerospace company has continued to face a month-long strike, which involves over 33,000 workers in the Seattle area. The strike has shut down production of the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, and 777s and 767s. The company is still making 787s at a nonunion plant in South Carolina.
The strike was prompted after workers overwhelmingly refused tentative contract negotiations provided by the company.
The main demand from the striking workers with International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers' Union (IAM) is a 40% pay raise.
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Thomas Hayes, equity manager at Great Hill Capital, said by email that the layoffs could put pressure on employees to end the strike.
"Striking workers who temporarily do not have a paycheck do not want to become unemployed workers who permanently do not have a paycheck," Hayes said. "I would estimate the strike will be resolved within a week as these workers do not want to find themselves in the next batch of 17,000 cuts."
Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr and Reuters contributed to this report.