US-based aerospace manufacturer Boeing delivered layoff notices this week to more than 400 members of its professional aerospace labor union, the first in a long series of labor cuts that could affect thousands of employees in the coming months.
Facing long-term financial and regulatory struggles and the short-term effects of an eight-week machinist strike, few analysts were surprised that Boeing would be looking to reduce its labor force and cut down on its operating expenses.
According to reports from the Associated Press, members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or the SPEEA, are among those affected by this latest batch of cuts.
Those who recently received notice of their termination are set to remain on the company's payroll through mid-January. Boeing has yet to respond to my's request for comment on the matter.
The machinists' strike, which ended earlier this month, resulted in an agreement that would see salaries rise by double-digit figures, a compromise the company made to get its employees back into its factories and get its supply chains moving again.
A company desperate to get deliveries back on track, my's analyses indicated that Boeing has managed to deliver more than 10 737 MAX jets since the strike ended.
In October, the manufacturer announced that it would be cutting 10% of its workforce, which would result in around 17,000 jobs being lost in the coming months.
Newly-appointed CEO Kelly Ortberg indicated that labor cuts are simply a reality the company will have to accept to restore its path toward financial profitability.
The union indicated that these job cuts would affect over 400 union members across Washington, California, and multiple other states.
Thousands of additional layoffs are expected in the early weeks of next year.
More than 100 workers at Boeing facilities in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area learned that they would be leaving the company this week.
According to Missouri-based local news outlet Fox 2, the company employs more than 16,000 employees across the state, a small portion of which will be searching for work ahead of the Christmas holiday.
There have been multiple series of protests in the St. Louis area, with roughly 100 mechanics receiving pink slips just shortly after returning to work from strikes and protests, with 104 of those laid off being employed as assembly mechanics and an additional 7 being employed as process mechanics.
According to the company, delays in 777X production and deliveries have resulted in a negative set of financial circumstances that required these mechanic layoffs.
What is interesting about this statement, however, is that the facility in Missouri does not serve as a manufacturing plant for the 777X or any of its related components.
According to the company itself, the Missouri facility primarily serves to build components for military aircraft, and supports fighter jets like the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Super Hornet and the Boeing F-15EX Eagle II. Whether these cuts relate to an expected decrease in defense spending has yet to be confirmed.