Embattled airplane maker and defense contractor the Boeing Company will lay off in excess of 2,000 workers at its Washington state facilities days before Christmas.
According to documents filed with the state labor department and first reported by Reuters, 2,199 workers will be permanently let go beginning on Dec. 20. It's part of a plan to eliminate more than 10% of the company's workforce that was announced in October.
A spokesperson for the Chicago-based company, which was long headquartered near its largest facilities in and around Seattle, told Scripps News, "We are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities. We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time."
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The impacted employees will be paid through mid-January in order to adhere to labor laws requiring 60 days' notice to workers affected by mass layoffs, Reuters reported, citing union officials and workers who had received pink slips.
The layoffs include people at airplane plants in Washington state but also engineers and technicians not directly involved in making planes, according to Reuters.
The layoffs came just after the end of a nearly 2-month strike by 33,000 Boeing workers on the West Coast, and months of management shakeup and production restrictions due to safety problems uncovered following a blowout involving a door plug on a 737 MAX operated by Alaska Airlines.
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The company lost close to $6 billion — including $5 billion in charges related to ongoing troubles — during the three months ending September.
The layoffs may not put an end to Boeing's troubles, according to analysts from Morningstar Inc. Boeing and other airplane makers are expected to face tougher trade and regulatory environment worldwide in response to protectionist tariff policies expected under President-elect Donald Trump.
