Boeing lays off nearly 2,200 people in Washington, state reports

The Boeing layoffs announced previously will impact nearly 2,200 workers in the state of Washington, a notice filed Monday with the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) states.

The worker adjustment and retraining notification (WARN) layoff and closure database update shows 2,199 Boeing workers were laid off. The layoff date is listed as Dec. 20 and it will affect workers in “various locations in Washington.” The database also states the layoffs are permanent.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a statement to employees in October that the company would lay off about 10% of its staff “over the coming months.”

“We must also reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and to a more focused set of priorities, Ortberg said in the statement.

The CEO added in his statement the reductions will include executives, managers and employees.

“As we move through this process, we will maintain our steadfast focus on safety, quality and delivering for our customers,” Ortberg’s letter to employees states. “We know these decisions will cause difficulty for you, your families and our team, and I sincerely wish we could avoid taking them. However, the state of our business and our future recovery require tough actions.”

Before the layoff notices delivered last week, Boeing had 66,000 workers in Washington.

Last week, issued layoff notices to 438 members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). They affected 218 members of the professional unit and 220 members of the technical workers unit.

SPEEA, which represents 17,000 Boeing employees primarily based in Washington, with some members in Oregon, California and Utah, has arranged joint meetings next week with representatives from the ESD. These meetings aim to help the laid-off members understand their rights under union contracts and navigate the process of applying for unemployment benefits.

Layoffs announced at Boeing during the machinist strike

The Boeing machinist union strike ended late on Nov. 4 after 59% of voting workers decided to accept the company’s latest offer. The union reported the development Monday night in a post published on X and released a statement to members of the media, including KIRO Newsradio, shortly after the initial announcement.

The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of Boeing’s offer to raise pay by 25% over four years — far less than the union’s original demand for 40% wage increases over three years. The work stoppage drew the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su intervened in the talks several times, including last week.

It was another setback for the giant aircraft maker whose reputation and finances have been battered and now faces a shutdown in production of its best-selling airline planes.

Despite the ongoing strike, in his remarks as part of the 2023 third-quarter analysts call in October, Ortberg did not blame the strike for the layoffs. Instead, the CEO said it was vital to stabilize our business and “streamlining the portfolio to do what we do well.”

“We need to reset priorities and create a leaner, more focused organization,” Ortberg said. “We’ve recently announced a workforce reduction which will focus on consolidation of areas where we’re not efficient and we need to continue to focus on reducing non-essential activity.”

The company is considering a second round of job cuts “if needed,” according to an internal presentation The Seattle Times said it has reviewed. Those workers will be notified in December and remain on payroll through mid-February.

Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba; The Associated Press

Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.