Boeing to lay off 4,500 in Seattle

1/9/09
St. Louis Business Journal

Boeing Co. said Friday that it will lay off 4,500 workers at its Seattle-based Commercial Airplanes unit.

MORE...

The division, which builds widebody planes such as the 747 in Everett and the 737 jets in Renton, will be reduced to 63,500 workers, which Boeing said was the level of employees in early 2008.

Chicago-based Boeing (NYSE: BA) said many of the layoffs will be in overhead functions not directly associated with airplane construction. Affected workers, who are mostly in Washington state, will be notified beginning in late February.

Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems unit is the second-largest employer in St. Louis with 16,000 workers.

“We regret the disruption to those affected by this decision, but we believe that acting now will allow us to be in a financial position to adapt to market uncertainties, meet our customer commitments, continue investing in our current and future product lines, and protect our competitiveness in a fiercely competitive business environment,” said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, in a statement.

Boeing said Thursday that the 58-day Machinists’ strike last fall hurt its total yearly delivery of commercial airplanes, with the company reporting 375 planes delivered in 2008, down from 441 a year earlier.

Washington officials expressed disappointment about the layoff announcement.

“The announcement that Boeing plans to lay off part of its work force is sad and disappointing, and yet more evidence of the deepening national recession ... While I understand this was a business decision, I feel for those workers and their families,” said Gov. Chris Gregoire, in a statement.