RENTON, Wash. — Boeing employees will begin receiving layoff notices on Wednesday, according to a timeline that the company confirmed for the cuts.
The job cuts will include executives, managers and employees, according to information previously released by the company. The move is part of new Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg's bid to restore the company to profitability.
"We need to be clear-eyed about the work we face and realistic about the time it will take to achieve key milestones on the path to recovery," Ortberg said in an October statement announcing the cuts and other changes to Boeing's business. "We also need to focus our resources on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment."
Information shared with KING 5 indicates the following timeline for layoffs:
- Nov. 13-15: Managers receive and deliver layoff notices
- Nov. 18: Employees receive all layoff documents in Worklife and become eligible for career transition services
- Nov. 20: Employees attend a virtual live layoff briefing
- Jan. 2: Deadline to complete layoff documents in Worklife
- Jan. 17: Last day on payroll
The company said they are providing impacted employees with career transition services and severance pay.
The layoff announcement came amid a weeks-long strike of over 33,000 machinists that brought much of the jet production at the company to a halt. However, Boeing confirmed that regardless of the agreement reached with the machinists union to get employees back to work, the layoffs would move forward.
In addition to layoffs, Boeing said it planned to build and deliver the remaining 767 freighters that were ordered and then end the commercial program in 2027. It will continue to produce the KC-46A tanker. The company will also evaluate its Boeing Defense, Space & Security program, which is one of the world’s largest defense and space contractors.
Boeing is attempting to dig itself out of a years-long financial hole that began with the fatal 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018, which is the last year that the company was profitable, according to the Associated Press.
The door-plug blowout from earlier this year and the machinists' strike, which is estimated to have cost the company over $1 billion, are mounting further challenges to the aerospace giant's financial recovery.
KING 5's Allison Sundell contributed to this report.
