Boeing plans to lay off about 10% of its workers in the coming months, about 17,000 people, as it continues to lose money and tries to deal with a strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes.
New CEO Kelly Ortberg told staff in a memo Friday that the job cuts will include executives, managers and employees.
The company has about 170,000 employees worldwide, many of them working in manufacturing facilities in the states of Washington and South Carolina.
Boeing had already imposed rolling temporary furloughs, but Ortberg said those will be suspended because of the impending layoffs.
The company will further delay the rollout of a new plane, the 777X, to 2026 instead of 2025. It will also stop building the cargo version of its 767 jet in 2027 after finishing current orders.
Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.
About 33,000 union machinists have been on strike since Sept. 14. Two days of talks this week failed to produce a deal, and Boeing filed an unfair-labor-practices charge against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
As it announced layoffs, Boeing also gave a preliminary report on its third-quarter financial results — and the news is not good for the company.
Boeing said it burned through $1.3 billion in cash during the quarter and lost $9.97 per share. Industry analysts had been expecting the company to lose $1.61 per share in the quarter, according to a FactSet survey, but analysts were likely unaware of some large write-downs that Boeing announced Friday — a $2.6 billion charge related to delays of the 777X, $400 million for the 767, and $2 billion for defense and space programs including new Air Force One jets, a space capsule for NASA and a military refueling tanker.
The company based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had $10.5 billion in cash and marketable securities on Sept. 30. Boeing is scheduled to release full third-quarter numbers on Oct. 23.
The strike has a direct bearing on cash burn because Boeing gets half or more of the price of planes when it delivers them to airline customers. The strike has shut down production of the 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling plane, and 777s and 767s. The company is still making 787s at a nonunion plant in South Carolina.
“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Ortberg told staff. He said the situation “requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”
Ortberg took over at Boeing in August, becoming the troubled company’s third CEO in less than five years. He is a longtime aerospace-industry executive but an outsider to Boeing.
The new CEO faces many challenges to turn the company around.
The Federal Aviation Administration increased scrutiny of the company after a panel blew out of a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Boeing has agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine for conspiracy to commit fraud tied to the Max, but relatives of the 346 people who died in two Max crashes want tougher punishment.
And Boeing got attention for all the wrong reasons when NASA decided that a Boeing spacecraft wasn’t safe enough to carry two astronauts home from the International Space Station.
FILE - Unpainted Boeing 737 Max aircraft are seen on Sept. 24, 2024, at the company's facilities in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
SEATTLE (AP) — When Geno Smith stepped to the microphone after another gut punch of a loss for the Seahawks, this one a 36-24 home defeat to NFC West rival San Francisco, he wasn’t about make any excuses.
“Obviously we did a lot of things that you don’t want to do when you talk about winning football games,” Smith said. “We didn’t control the ball, didn’t control the clock, turned the ball over, had penalties. You know, all the things that we talk about every week.”
Smith wasn’t at his best on Thursday despite throwing for 312 yards, with several missed throws and two costly interceptions, but he wasn’t the only one to blame as the Seahawks (3-3) lost their third straight.
The defense struggled yet again, as the San Francisco run game pounded the Seahawks for 228 yards and quarterback Brock Purdy threw for 255 yards and three touchdowns, one a 76-yarder to Deebo Samuel.
While the Seahawks managed to make the game interesting after falling behind 23-3 early in the second half, the turnovers and another poor defensive showing made this a game without many bright spots.
For first-year coach Mike Macdonald, it was a disappointing result to his team’s first divisional matchup of the season, especially in light of Baltimore’s 33-19 drubbing of the 49ers last Christmas, when Macdonald was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.
“Look, it stings,” Macdonald said. “It stings to have lost three in a row, to lose it against your division rival at home, prime time, such a great environment. Guys fought their tails off down to the last minute. But we’re not playing well enough to beat the team we needed to beat.”
The Seahawks looked poised for a big comeback for part of the fourth quarter. Trailing 23-3 with just over 10 minutes left in the third quarter, Seattle made it a two-score game after Laviska Shenault Jr. returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
Just over eight minutes later, Kenneth Walker III made it a five-point game with a 1-yard touchdown run. But when Smith threw an interception to Renardo Green on a pass to DK Metcalf with 7:55 left in the game to give San Francisco the ball at the 15-yard line, the 49ers quickly scored again.
Though they couldn’t pull it out, the Seahawks made it close in the fourth quarter for a second straight game. With a fewer mistakes at some critical moments, Seattle could be 5-1.
Seattle’s run defense needs to improve, and quickly. The 49ers gashed the Seahawks for 228 yards on 33 carries as Seattle gave up big yards on the ground for the third consecutive week.
Jordan Mason gained 73 yards on nine carries before leaving with a shoulder injury early in the second half, while Isaac Guerendo gained 99 yards on 19 carries, 76 on one play in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks are allowing an average of 144.7 rushing yards per game, good for 27th in the NFL. On a team led by the defensive guru Macdonald, that simply isn’t good enough.
Shenault didn’t have a perfect game by any means, with a fumble on a second-quarter kickoff that led to a 49ers field goal, but his long return for a touchdown in the third gave Seattle a much-needed spark.
His big run gave him a 33.5-yards-per-return average and 369 total yards on 11 returns this season, both second best in the NFL.
After four consecutive standout weeks, this game was a bit of a dud for Smith. Although he threw for more than 300 yards and a touchdown on 30-of-52 passing, including 203 yards in the second half, he missed some big throws and threw a pair of interceptions.
He wasn’t Seattle’s biggest problem in an ugly loss, but the his poor first half and two picks were costly.
CB’s Artie Burns (toe) and Tre Brown (ankle) both left the game. Macdonald was optimistic that DT Byron Murphy II (hamstring) will play in Seattle’s next game at Atlanta on Oct. 20.
Minus-6 — Seattle had three turnovers, with Smith’s two interceptions and Shenault’s fumble. The 49ers did not have a giveaway. Through six games, the Seahawks have a minus-6 turnover differential.
The Seahawks will try to snap their skid against a Falcons team that has won its past two and ranks sixth in the NFL with 260 passing yards per game.
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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith runs the ball against San Francisco 49ers defensive end Robert Beal Jr. (51) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, right, runs the ball against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Renardo Green, left, during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Leonard Williams gestures to the crowd during a stoppage against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Tyler Lockett (16) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, left, is unable to bring in a pass in the end zone against San Francisco 49ers cornerback Renardo Green, right, during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
