May 27, 2020 / Nicholas Reimann, Forbes Staff
TOPLINE
Boeing announced Wednesday that the company is cutting over 12,000 jobs—most of those in the Seattle area—as the beleaguered air manufacturer deals with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic that’s at times seen air travel drop over 90% compared to 2019.
KEY FACTS
- The company plans to lay off 6,770 U.S. workers this week, with another 5,520 workers being asked to take buyouts in coming weeks.
- The cuts come after Boeing already announced plans that it would lay off around 10% of its workforce, which would mean cutting about 16,000 jobs of the total 160,000-person workforce.
- Additional cuts are coming, a Boeing spokesperson told the Associated Press, with thousands of more jobs to be cut in the coming months.
- This round of layoffs will be concentrated in Seattle, the home of the company’s commercial airplane campus, with The Seattle Times reporting nearly 10,000 of the job cuts will be from Washington state.
- Those jobs will officially be cut before July 31, according to The Seattle Times.
- The cuts were largely attributed to decline in demand for commercial air travel, with Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun saying in a message to employees that the defense and space side of Boeing’s business remains strong.
