Boeing to eliminate 50 executive positions in major overhaul

Federal contractor Boeing announced Tuesday it will reorganize its defense and space business in a major move that will eliminate roughly 50 executive positions and make the company “more globally competitive,” it said in a statement.

“We need to be an agile organization that is more responsive to customers’ needs and committed to continually improving productivity,” said Leanne Caret, Boeing’s CEO of defense, space and security.

“We are fundamentally addressing how we compete, win, and grow in Boeing’s second century.”

Approximately 50 executive employees will leave the company through layoffs within the next three to four months. All layoffs will be completed by the end of the year, Boeing spokesman Todd Blecher told The Hill.

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Blecher said the affected employees were notified within the past 24 hours of the decision, which “has been in the works for some time.”

“Right now there’s a layer in between the program manager and the head of the business segment, who reports to Leanne,” he explained. “We’ve taken out that layer.”

The company will also by July 1 dismantle two Boeing units that will “evolve into smaller entities reporting to Caret,” specifically the Boeing military aircraft and network and space systems segments.

The four smaller entities will be Autonomous Systems; Space and Missile Systems; Strike, Surveillance and Mobility; and Vertical Lift – which includes Boeing’s AH-6i, AH-64 Apache, and CH-47 Chinook helicopters  and the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor, made with Bell Helicopter.

The firm’s development, global operations and phantom works segments, “will largely be unchanged.”  

Caret has already made several changes to Boeing’s structure since becoming CEO in February of last year.  She moved the firm’s defense and space unit from St. Louis to Arlington, Va. in January this year to be able to interact more easily with lawmakers.