The struggles at Boeing continue as the company plans to lay off more than 400 aerospace labor union members — just weeks after ending a massive strike involving a separate union.
Layoff notices went out last week to members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, according to the Associated Press. Boeing had announced the end of a seven-week strike by its machinists’ union just two weeks ago, as the troubled manufacturer lurches from one issue to the next.
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Major problems at Boeing began in January, when a door flew off the side of an Alaska Airlines plane and generated national headlines. Plane production at Boeing has been decimated in the months since, leading to the labor issues and layoffs the company is facing now.
Boeing announced in October that it would issue pink slips to 17,000 workers, or roughly 10% of its workforce. That amount now includes 438 SPEEA union members, per the AP.
Prior to that, Boeing said it lost $6.1 billion in the third quarter of 2024, while about one-fifth of its workforce was on strike.
“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg said at the time. “Going forward, we will be focused on fundamentally changing the culture, stabilizing the business, and improving program execution while setting the foundation for the future of Boeing.”
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Those turnaround efforts will continue as Boeing goes through painful layoffs and seeks stability in 2025 and beyond.
The strike put additional strains on the company, but Ortberg said it was not the cause of the layoffs, which he attributed to “overstaffing.”
