Boeing to cut about 5% of its commercial plane workforce

Boeing will cut about 5% of its commercial plane workforce as it moderates the pace of ramping up jet production, the company said on Monday.

The company will eliminate the posts through a mix of layoffs and attrition because of a slower ramp-up to “provide our factories and supply chain partners additional time to achieve stability”, said a message to employees from Boeing commercial chief Stephanie Pope.

“Adjusting our production schedules and reducing aircraft output puts us in an overstaffed position,” she added.

Pope praised the team for improved operations reflected in US certifications this year of the 737 Max 7 and 737 Max 10.

“While we have made substantial progress, we have not yet fully recovered,” said Pope, who promised to treat employees with “dignity and respect” as the company moves ahead with layoff notifications beginning in December.

Boeing executives had previously signaled slower plans to raise plane output, saying in a late October conference call the company would no longer meet its target for 2026 deliveries and that it had pushed back the timeframe for lifting 737 Max production to 52 from 47 until the second half of 2027.

Raising 737 Max output has been viewed by investors as central to revenue and profit growth after a long period of financial losses due to safety problems, including two deadly Max crashes in 2018 and 2019.

“We’re making progress, but we still have more work to do, and I’m expecting it’ll take us into next year to get fully stable at this rate,” CEO Kelly Ortberg said in October.

Ortberg cited the need for greater predictability in wing production and with the production of fuselages at its Kansas operation.