Boeing is a giant employer in Washington State and a big deal for the economy. Sadly, things aren’t looking great right now. We hate to see paychecks vanish, but that’s the tough news we’ve got. Let’s rip off the Band-Aid. 😢
Here are Five Fast Facts about the coming Boeing layoffs:
- ✈️ Big Time Product Lines - In Washington, Boeing produces the 737, 767, and 777 lines of planes, as well as a number of military aircraft. The company has about 170,000 employees—well, for now.
- 🪓 Here It Comes - Boeing announced in October that it would be cutting 10% of its total workforce (around 17,000 jobs) across Washington State, Oregon, California, and Utah. The law requires 60 days notice, so that means the axe is now starting to fall.
- 🌲 Hitting Home - A big chunk of those layoffs – 2,199 – will come in Washington State. There are around 66,000 total Boeing employees in the state, where the company was founded.
- 👀 Who’s At Risk? - Everyone is up for consideration, from execs on down. A union representing engineers, scientists, tech workers, and pilots said that hundreds of their members have already received layoff notices.
- 😣 Bad Things - The company lost $6 billion last quarter and is sitting on top of a mountain of debt. There are questions of quality after crashes in 2018 and 2019, and a door blowing off mid-flight this year. The strike by 33,000 machinists earlier this year didn’t help, either. The layoffs are a last ditch effort to keep things *ahem* afloat.
🔥Bottom line: We get that sometimes companies have to take extreme measures to keep going. Better to lose 10% than 100%, right? Still, it always sucks to see big layoffs like this, particularly at such an important company for our state. Hopefully those folks can find other jobs quickly, and Boeing will recover and begin growing again!
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