Boeing to begin layoffs Dec. 14

Associated Press

SEATTLE — Boeing Co. will begin laying off commercial airplane workers Dec. 14, and the company said about 10 percent of the division’s workforce could be gone by the end of the year.

"That (Dec. 14) is 10 days before Christmas. That is not good news for our members and their families," said Mark Blondin, president of the International Association of Machinists District Lodge 751. "We are working daily with the company to try to mitigate the impact of this job loss."

Boeing officials said Wednesday the timing was necessary under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires the company to give union employees 60 days notice of job cuts.

The company said it plans to begin notifying workers Oct. 12, in compliance with the act.

Boeing will not follow the lead of several airlines, which have cited clauses in labor contracts to void severance packages and other payouts to laid-off workers.

"Boeing intends to follow the spirit and intent outlined in all its labor contracts and will make layoff benefit payments to all represented employees who are affected by a layoff," company spokesman Tom Ryan said.

Last week, Boeing announced plans to lay off 20 percent to 30 percent of its commercial airplane employees, or as many as 30,000 workers, in the wake of the terrorist attacks two weeks ago.

On Wednesday, Ryan said that after the initial 10 percent cut, the company planned to eliminate another 10 percent of commercial aircraft jobs by June. A third group of workers, also representing about 10 percent of the original workforce, will be laid off by the end of 2002, he said.

The economic downturn and a fear of flying after the hijacking attacks have severely hurt airlines, which in turn are delaying orders and deliveries of Boeing planes.

Roughly 93,000 people work for Boeing’s commercial airline sector, much of which is centered around the company’s former headquarters in Seattle. Boeing’s corporate headquarters is now in Chicago.

Boeing also saw major layoffs in the late ’90s. Between 1998 and the present, Boeing worldwide employment dropped from 238,400 to the current 199,000, dipping as low as 187,000 in August 2000.

The Machinists and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees said they were talking with Boeing about voluntary layoffs, reductions in overtime and cancellation of subcontracting in favor of keeping more work in-house.

However, company officials have said that early retirement buyouts and any cancellation of subcontracting is highly unlikely.

Shares of Boeing were off 38 cents to $33.95 in trading on the New York Stock Exchange.