Boeing to cut hundreds of jobs

Boeing says it will lay off “hundreds of engineering employees” in Washington state and other company sites on Friday.

“We need to reduce our employment levels further,” John Hamilton, vice president of engineering at Boeing Commercial Airplanes, wrote Monday, according to The Seattle Times. 

“We anticipate [Friday’s notices] will impact hundreds of engineering employees. Additional reductions in engineering later this year will be driven by our business environment and the amount of voluntary attrition.”

{mosads}Boeing reportedly offered a round of voluntary buyouts in January, an offer that was accepted by more than 300 engineering and technical staff and 1,500 members of the machinists union.

The Times said all the engineering staff who accepted the proposal will permanently leave Boeing Friday, along with roughly 1,000 machinists.

Boeing has purportedly cut 1,332 engineering and technical jobs from its Washington workforce since January 2016.

The Times added the aviation company issued an earlier round of layoffs in March resulting in 245 involuntary layoffs, including 62 engineering staff and 111 machinists, taking place in mid-May.

The Washington Examiner said Boeing has terminated more than 9,000 employees over the past year, mainly through buyouts and retirements.

The Chicago-based company currently employs 74,200 people, it added, and reported $95 billion in revenue last year.

President Trump fiercely criticized Boeing during his transition period over the cost of its replacement Air Force One program, calling the price of two new 747s “out of control.”

The president has since claimed he helped lowered the program’s costs after meeting with Boeing’s CEO earlier this year.