More job reductions at Boeing’s Chicago headquarters and its commercial aviation units are due with the company CEO’s new invitation to workers to take a voluntary layoff deal.
The CEO, David Calhoun, disclosed the offer Monday in a letter to employees. It does not give a targeted number of job cuts, but they are in addition to prior plans to trim the payroll by 16,000 people, or about 10% of Boeing’s total.
Calhoun said lack of demand for air travel during the pandemic, which in turn has caused airlines to cancel jet orders, is forcing his hand. The voluntary layoffs, including offers for severance and continued health insurance, will target corporate jobs and the commercial airplanes and services businesses, he said. Less affected will be Boeing’s defense and space units.
“The actions we’ve already taken as a company to strengthen liquidity will help us bridge to the other side of the crisis, but we anticipate seeing a significantly smaller marketplace over the next three years,” Calhoun said in a letter, a copy of which the Sun-Times reviewed.
Boeing employs about 500 people at its Chicago headquarters. A spokesman could not say how many of those jobs might be affected.
“I truly wish the current market demand could support the size of our workforce,” Calhoun said. “Unfortunately, layoffs are a hard but necessary step to align to our new reality, preserve liquidity and position ourselves for the eventual return to growth.”
He said eligible employees will get more information on the company’s offer beginning Aug. 24. The company is expected to decide in September which volunteers it will accept for the layoffs.
Calhoun said extending the reductions beyond the original 10% is in response to worker feedback and could reduce the need for compulsory layoffs later. Boeing had said it expected to complete the 10% reductions by the end of the year.
Boeing’s business trouble related to COVID-19 has been compounded by airlines canceling orders for its 737 MAX jet amid questions about its safety. Regulators have grounded the planes for a year following two fatal crashes attributed to flaws in the plane’s flight-control software.
