ARLINGTON, Va.—According to Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) announcements throughout the country, compiled by the Lynnwood Times, The Boeing Company as of December 9, has announced 4,272 layoffs in 10 states with Washington, by far, having the largest job cuts.
The first WARN notifications appeared in Washington, Oregon, and South Carolina on November 15. This was shortly after tens of thousands of International Association of Machinists 751 & W24 union members returned to work on November 12, following approval of a historic agreement with Boeing on November 4, ending a 53-day strike that cost the aerospace juggernaut billions of dollars in lost revenue.
The breakdown of the 4,272 layoff notices are as follows:
- Washington: 2,595 (2,199 by Jan. 17, 2025, and 396 by Feb, 21, 2025)
- Missouri: 692 by Jan. 7, 2025
- South Carolina: 220 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Arizona: 184 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Alabama: 158 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Florida: 141 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Pennsylvania: 101 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Virginia: 68 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Colorado: 63 by Jan. 17, 2025
- Oregon: 50 by Jan. 17, 2025
The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) announced on December 6 that a total of 660 its members comprised the nearly 4,000 Boeing employees to be laid off by mid-January.
To support those with notices, SPEEA stated that it will partner with the Washington State Labor Council and the state’s Department of Employment Security to hold informational meetings on unemployment insurance benefits and services to help the impacted members find new jobs.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg’s four-point plan to “stabilize the business” appears to be in full swing across the country, which included layoffs of approximately 17,000 employees or 10% of its workforce.
At its third-quarter 2024 earnings briefing on October 23, Ortberg shared the grim reality of the company’s financial challenges ahead and his four-point plan to “restore Boeing to the leadership position that we all know and want.”
Revenues for the quarter were $17.8 billion, down $300 million from the previous year. So far for the year, Boeing has reported a total of $51.3 billion in revenues, down from $55.8 billion in third quarter 2023. For the year, the company is reporting a Net Loss of $8 billion with $6.174 billion in the third quarter alone.
Ortberg’s framework to restoring Boeing to prominence is akin to Dr. W. Edwards Deming approaches to effective business management:
- Culture change
- Stabilize the business.
- Improve execution discipline on new platform commitments
- Build a new future
In his October announcement, Ortberg also committed to a returned emphasis on core total quality management (TQM) principles to “prevent the festering of issues” and “identify, fix, and understand root cause[s].”
Earlier this year, the S&P Global and Moody’s lowered the aircraft manufacturer’s creditworthiness in April to BBB- (the firm’s lowest grade), the FAA capped 737 Max production to 38 planes per month following the Alaska air incident in January, plagued by delays of its 777X production, and setbacks meeting mandated international “greener” emission standards for its 767 aircrafts, resulted in the company burning through billions of dollars well before September’s strike.
Boeing hasn’t reported a full-year profit since 2018, a year before two crashes of the 737 MAX jet that led to the grounding of the plane worldwide.
Last week, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker met with Ortberg and toured Boeing’s 737 plant in Renton, which has not yet resumed 737 MAX airplane production over a month since the strike officially ended on November 4. Whitaker did share with Reuters that he plans another meeting with Ortberg in January as the company ramps up production.
The Boeing Production System follows a lean methodology utilizing Just-in-Time, CONWIP, and Job Shop philosophies. Because of this complexity, it will be several weeks before Boeing will be at steady-state—full production—of its 737, 767, 777/777X and military derivatives P-8 and KC-46A aircrafts, a Boeing spokesman told the Lynnwood Times.
For its ramp up plan, Boeing will continue to comply with its Safety Management System policies that include employee training and certifications. Airplanes that have been completed and certified will continue to be delivered from the Everett and Seattle delivery centers, as well as Boeing South Carolina.
Editor’s Note: Article updated 3:00 p.m., Monday, December 9, 2024, to include an additional 396 WARN notices announced on December 6, 2024, in Washington state.
Author: Mario Lotmore
