Boeing plans thousands of additional job cuts in next year amid pandemic losses

Boeing on Wednesday announced plans for thousands of additional job cuts in the next year amid the pandemic’s impact on the travel industry. 

Boeing CEO David Calhoun told staff in a memo that the company plans to have 130,000 employees at the end of 2021, down from 160,000 at the beginning of 2020. 

The company had already announced that more than 19,000 employees would be leaving this year, The Associated Press reported. 

“As we align to market realities, our business units and functions are carefully making staffing decisions to prioritize natural attrition and stability in order to limit the impact on our people and our company,” Calhoun said in the memo. “We anticipate a workforce of about 130,000 employees by the end of 2021. Throughout this process, we will communicate with you every step of the way.”

The company recorded a net loss of $466 million in the third quarter after earning a profit of $1.2 billion in 2019. Revenue fell 29 percent to $14.1 billion, but slightly higher than predictions of $13.9 billion. Its shares experienced a $1.39 loss per share, better than Refinitive’s consensus estimates expecting a $2.52 loss per share.

Boeing’s financial trouble started before the pandemic, when it had to ground its 737 Max planes in March 2019 after two crashes left hundreds of people dead. 

The company, based in Chicago, decreased its prediction of demand for new planes in the next 10 years by 11 percent due to the pandemic. Boeing has experienced canceled deals and slower production, leading the company to deliver only 98 planes this year, compared to 301 during the same period last year, according to the third quarter report.

Boeing, which has assembly plants near Seattle and in South Carolina, is preparing to reduce its workforce by not replacing people who retire and curtailing 7,000 jobs with buyouts and layoffs through next year, according to the AP.

This week, Raytheon, an aerospace and defense manufacturer, also announced cuts to 15,000 staff and 4,000 contractor positions because of decreased sales during the pandemic, according to Defense News.