Possible more cuts at Boeing
14 / 01 / 2009
FURTHER rumours are circulating that the planned 4,500 job layoffs at Boeing are only the start of a much wider planned job cull. A Boeing source told aerospace reporter James Wallace that Boeing is planning to cut its 737 and 777 work force by as much as 30 per cent this year. Production rates are falling sharply as airlines increasingly defer or consider cancelling their orders even though the latter would mean they lose their deposits.
“It’s going to be 1971 all over again,” the source said referring to the infamous ‘Boeing Bust’ saga when Boeing laid off 60,000 staff and a billboard went up asking the last person leaving Seattle to turn out the lights.
However, Wallace suggested that Boeing is unlikely to do this citing a far leaner operation and more conservative production rate after the 9/11 terrorist attack industry slump, which would make further cuts than those announced infeasible.
“Boeing executives have made it clear since then that they are going to avoid the huge, costly employment swings that have accompanied past industry cycles,” he said.