Boeing to cut, move 2,000 jobs out of Puget Sound area
Sep 29, 2014, 3:14 PM | Updated: 3:37 pm
Boeing says work will continue in Renton on the submarine hunting P-8A Poseidon despite the consolidation of other programs that will eliminate upwards of 2,000 jobs in the Puget Sound area. (Boeing photo)
(Boeing photo)
An estimated 2,000 Boeing workers in the Puget Sound area will lose their jobs or be forced to move over the next few years as the company consolidates the majority of its defense work in the midwest.
The company announced Monday most of the work would be relocated to Oklahoma City and St. Louis.
“The decision to consolidate these activities was difficult because it affects our employees, their families and their communities,” said Chris Chadwick, Boeing Defense, Space & Security president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “However, this is necessary if we are going to differentiate ourselves from competitors and stay ahead of a rapidly changing global defense environment.”
Programs that will be relocated include services and support work for Airborne Warning and Control Systems, Airborne Early Warning & Control and the F-22 Raptor.
“Consolidating this work will allow the business to more efficiently use the resources and capabilities across the company,” explained Jim O’Neill, president of Global Services and Support for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “Our goal is to minimize disruption to program execution by making the necessary changes in an orderly transition.”
The estimated 2,000 jobs are mostly in engineering and will transition through a combination of relocations, transfers, attrition and layoffs, The Seattle Times reports.
The company says the consolidation will not affect the two largest Boeing defense programs based in the region — the 767-based Air Force tanker and the 737-based P-8 anti-submarine jet.
Services and support work for Airborne Warning and Control Systems, Airborne Early Warning & Control and the F-22 Raptor would be moved over the next three years.
The company says it will try to “mitigate the impact of this decision on individual employees” by offering transfers to the Commercial Airplanes group whenever possible.
It will also provide assistance and resources for employees to help them throughout this transition, including job search resources, retirement seminars, and career counseling services, the company said.
