Boeing intends to cut another 5,000 jobs

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Boeing Co. expects to eliminate 5,000 more jobs next year in addition to the nearly 30,000 cuts the aerospace company has made since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the company said yesterday.

Half of the new cuts would be made through attrition and the rest through layoffs in the commercial airplane division, unit chief executive Alan Mulally told employees.

The company signaled more than a month ago that it will need to make further cuts, because it is unlikely the airline industry will recover soon from its prolonged downturn. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Boeing has deferred deliveries of more than 500 jets as airlines, bleeding billions of dollars, canceled or rescheduled orders.

By the end of 2003, the Renton, Wash.-based commercial planes division expects to have a work force of 60,000, from its current 65,000, spokesman Bill Cogswell said. The first layoff notices will go out tomorrow, and take effect Jan. 24, he said.

The company has spent the past few weeks trying to determine how many people it will need in the coming year to match employment with production levels, Cogswell said. The company expects to deliver between 275 and 285 jets in 2003, down from the 380 expected for this year.

Most of the new reductions will come in the Puget Sound area, Cogswell said, where Boeing builds its jetliners in factories in Everett and Renton.

The precise number of layoffs depends on the company maintaining its typical 4 percent to 5 percent attrition rate.

"We believe the employment reductions will impact all of our areas, all of our employees, nonsalaried members and executives across the board," Cogswell said.