Boeing said today that it expects to slash employment at its Commercial Airplanes business by some 4,500 positions this year “as part of an effort to ensure competitiveness and control costs in the face of a weakening global economy.” The cuts lower Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ employment total to roughly 63,500, approximately the level at which it began at the start of last year.
“We are taking prudent actions to make sure Boeing remains well positioned in today’s difficult economic environment,” said Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We have made significant strides in recent years to achieve greater efficiency and productivity, but we still face challenges that we must address. We regret the disruption to those affected by this decision, but we believe that acting now will allow us to be in a financial position to adapt to market uncertainties, meet our customer commitments, continue investing in our current and future product lines and protect our competitiveness in a fiercely competitive business environment.”
