WASHINGTON - The Boeing Co is set to announce termination of its employees in the US this week, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) union that represents 17,600 Boeing employees told Reuters.
According to the union, around 1,300 of its members have applied to take voluntary layoffs. Last month Boeing CEO David Calhoun said the aerospace giant would slash its global workforce of 160,000 employees by around 10% as the aviation industry faces an unprecedented shock caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
Boeing, said Mr Calhoun, will need to make “even deeper reductions in areas that are most exposed to the condition of our commercial customers—more than 15% across our commercial airplanes and services businesses, as well as our corporate functions.”
In April Boeing recorded zero orders for the second time this year, a condition which was exacerbated by safety concerns regarding Boeing 737 MAX aircraft after the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019. (MS)