After two years of layoffs that have eliminated 35,000 people from the Boeing Co. payroll, Chairman Phil Condit said Wednesday that he doesn’t “expect to see significant changes in the workforce” in the coming year.
There will be staffing adjustments within the Seattle-based Commercial Airplanes Group in 2004, Condit said. The company could add designers to work on the new 7E7, while also trimming manufacturing workers in its continuing efficiency drive.
Given that, “we may see some up and down,” Condit said. “But overall – relative stability.”
That “would definitely be good news” for a Snohomish County economy battered by the layoffs, said Donna Thompson, an Everett-based labor market economist.
Condit’s comments weren’t an absolute guarantee of no more layoffs, Thompson said. But “if we can see an end to these big layoffs at Boeing, we’d see an end to that ripple affect too.”
“I’d expect the economy would stabilize,” she said. “We’d at least stop losing jobs.”
Condit spoke during a conference call with stock analysts and reporters Wednesday, as Boeing announced its third quarter earnings.
The company’s profits dropped 31 percent compared to last year, falling to $256 million in the quarter, down from $372 million in the same quarter of 2002. On a per-share basis, earnings fell 30 percent, to 32 cents from 46 cents.
The drop was attributed to Boeing’s decision to end production of the 757. The estimated cost of shutting down the line – $184 million – was charged against this quarter’s earnings.
“All things considered, we had a very good quarter,” Condit said. Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems unit grew its bottom line, while the commercial division “is doing a fantastic job in an incredibly difficult market.”
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