The key facts

  • Boeing is cutting about 5% of the staff of its commercial airplane unit — through natural attrition and involuntary layoffs
  • Notifications will begin in December; the decision follows the postponement of the 737 MAX production ramp-up to 2027
  • This is the first layoff since 2024, when 17,000 employees were slated for dismissal

Boeing cuts 5% of staff at its commercial airplanes unit

Boeing plans to cut about 5% of employees at its commercial airplanes unit, as a slowdown in production ramp-up has left it overstaffed. The unit's president and chief executive Stephanie Pope announced this in a message to employees, Anadolu reports. The reduction will be carried out through a combination of natural attrition and involuntary layoffs, with notifications beginning in December.

The reason — a revision of production plans

“Adjusting our production schedules and lowering aircraft output levels have left us in an overstaffed position,” Pope wrote. According to her, Boeing needs to slow its planned production ramp-up to give factories and supply chain partners additional time to reach stability — this follows from the adjustments outlined in the third-quarter report. “Unfortunately, this means we need to align our headcount with the revised business plan,” she added.

Against the backdrop of a delayed 737 MAX output ramp-up

The decision came two weeks after Boeing pushed back the planned increase in 737 MAX production from the end of this year to 2027, sending the company's shares to an 18-month low. Management also said the company will not meet its delivery targets for the 737 and the 787 Dreamliner by the end of the year.

First layoffs since 2024

This is the first workforce reduction since 2024, when CEO Kelly Ortberg, shortly after taking office, announced plans to cut 17,000 jobs. At the time, as Anadolu notes, Boeing was under serious financial pressure due to the machinists' strike and the fallout from a door plug blowing out mid-flight on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9. Since then, the company has spent two years investing in staff, training and infrastructure; Pope said these investments helped improve quality and delivery performance, secure certification of the 737-7 and 737-10 aircraft and bring positive changes to corporate culture, yet “we have not fully recovered.” Laid-off employees are promised outplacement services, severance pay and support through the Employee Assistance Program.