ARLINGTON, VA — Boeing Commercial Airplanes will reduce its workforce by approximately 5 percent through a combination of attrition and involuntary layoffs, with notifications beginning in December, according to an email to employees from division President and CEO Stephanie Pope. The reduction is required to align staffing levels with a revised business plan after the company decided to reset the pace of its production rate ramps. Adjusting production schedules and reducing aircraft output has left the division overstaffed, Pope shared.
“Over the past two years, we have made significant investments in talent, training, and infrastructure across BCA to stabilize our business and strengthen our foundation for the future…. While we have made substantial progress, we have not yet fully recovered,” Pope wrote.
Over the last year, Boeing has seen progress on 737-7 and 737-10 certification, and positive changes to the culture, Pope added, specifically with the Federal Aviation Administration completed certification of the 737-7 earlier in 2026 and the 737-10 in October, finishing the MAX family lineup after extensive flight and ground testing.
The slower ramp, which the company discussed in its third-quarter earnings, is intended to give factories and supply chain partners additional time to achieve stability. Boeing’s third-quarter results showed revenue of $24.2 billion (up 4 percent year over year) and a sharply narrowed net loss of $116 million, or $0.26 per share, compared with a much larger loss a year earlier. Free cash flow was positive in the quarter, and the company reported a record backlog of $745 billion, including more than 6,300 commercial airplanes.
The commercial airplanes unit itself reported $10.7 billion in revenue and an operating loss of $697 million in the quarter. Deliveries totaled 161 airplanes, including 124 737s. The 737 program has been moving toward a stabilized rate of 47 airplanes per month, while the 787 has held at 8 per month. Company executives have indicated the 737 rate target of 47 per month is now expected in early 2027, later than an earlier summer 2026 projection, and that 2026 delivery goals for the program will be missed. The next step to 52 per month is planned only after sustained stability at 47.
Boeing’s decision to cut staffing levels comes after the launched of a new $1 billion 737 MAX North Line at its Everett factory. The line, which became operational in early July as the fourth dedicated to the MAX family, was part of efforts to increase capacity from prior rates around 42 per month, with longer-term goals of higher output.
SPEEA members, early October, ratified four-year contracts after initially rejecting an offer in August. The agreements cover about 17,000 engineers, scientists, and technical workers and include an immediate 10 percent wage increase plus additional raises projected to average 32 percent over four years, averting a potential strike. The prior contract had expired in early October.
“I know how difficult these actions are and the impact they will have on all of us, our families, and our communities. We will never take that lightly,” Pope wrote.
The company plans to support affected employees through company-sponsored outplacement services, layoff benefits, and Employee Assistance Program resources.
Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes division employed approximately 50,500 people at the end of 2025, according to company figures, so a 5 percent reduction equates to roughly 2,500 positions, though the exact mix of attrition versus involuntary cuts has yet to be released.
Author: Mario Lotmore
