Boeing to cut 5% of commercial aircraft workforce amid production delay

Home / World News / Boeing to cut 5% of commercial aircraft workforce amid production delay

Boeing plans to reduce its Commercial Airplanes workforce by 5%, or around 2,500 roles, as it resets production schedules to give factories and suppliers more time to stabilise output

Boeing plans to cut around 2,500 jobs in its Commercial Airplanes division as production delays push back its 737 output targets and recovery timeline. (Image Credit: Bloomberg)

Barkha Mathur New Delhi

Listen to This Article

Boeing plans to cut around 5 per cent of its Commercial Airplanes workforce as the US aircraft manufacturer struggles to increase production and pushes back key recovery targets, reported Reuters.

The reductions will be carried out through a combination of attrition and involuntary layoffs, according to an internal memo circulated by Commercial Airplanes Chief Stephanie Pope on Monday. Employee notices could be sent as early as December. Boeing has to provide workers with 60 days' notice in several US states.

In the memo, Pope said the company needed to reset production ramp-up schedules to give its factories and supply chain partners more time to stabilise operations.

"Adjusting our production schedules and reducing aircraft output puts us in an overstaffed position," she said, according to Reuters.

Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division, headquartered in Seattle, had 50,494 employees as of December 2025, according to the company's website. The planned reduction could therefore affect around 2,500 employees.

The workforce reduction comes as Boeing faces delays in increasing production of its key aircraft programmes. Chief Executive Officer Kelly Ortberg said last month that the company would miss its 737 jetliner production and delivery targets for 2026.

Boeing now expects to reach a production rate of 47 aircraft a month in early 2027, against its earlier target of summer 2026.

The manufacturer has also struggled to increase production of its 787 widebody aircraft from eight to 10 jets a month. Its 767 and 777 programmes have faced disruptions as well, Reuters reported last month.

Boeing also expects to achieve $10 billion in free cash flow only in 2029, a year later than analysts had anticipated, according to the report.

During the company's third-quarter earnings call, Ortberg said Boeing would remain disciplined in increasing production despite pressure to accelerate the ramp-up.

The planned layoffs would be Boeing's first major workforce reduction since 2024, when it cut 17,000 jobs amid financial difficulties following a machinists' strike and the fallout from a door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 aircraft.