Boeing Issues Layoff Notices to Over 400 SPEEA Workers Amid Workforce Reduction Plan

Boeing has issued layoff notices to over 400 members of its professional aerospace labor union as part of broader plans to cut thousands of jobs.

These layoffs come amid financial and regulatory challenges, compounded by an eight-week strike by the Machinists union.

The notices, affecting members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace SPEEA, were sent out last week, with impacted workers remaining employed until mid-January, according to The Seattle Times.

In October, Boeing announced it would reduce its workforce by 10%, or about 17,000 positions. CEO Kelly Ortberg explained the cuts as necessary to align with our financial reality.

The layoffs include 438 SPEEA members, with 218 from the professional unit, comprising engineers and scientists, and the rest from the technical unit, which includes analysts, technicians, and skilled tradespeople.

SPEEA represents 17,000 Boeing workers, mainly in Washington, with some based in Oregon, California, and Utah.

Affected employees will receive severance pay one week per year of service, career transition support, and subsidized healthcare benefits for up to three months.

Boeing’s Machinists union recently returned to work following their strike, which strained the company’s finances. However, Ortberg attributed the layoffs to overstaffing rather than the strike.

Boeing, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has faced significant challenges since a fuselage incident involving an Alaska Airlines plane in January. Production rates have slowed, and the FAA has capped 737 MAX production at 38 planes per month, a target the company has yet to meet.

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