Boeing to lay off about 10% of its workforce globally, the new CEO Kelly Ortberg told staff in a memo on Friday, October 11, 2024. Boeing employs more than 1.7 Lakh people in more than 65 countries. This means the latest round of lay-offs will impact more than 17,000 people worldwide.

These reductions will include executives, managers and employees, said Kelly in the memo. “Next week, your leadership team will share more tailored information about what this means for your organization. Based on this decision, we will not proceed with the next cycle of furloughs,” Kelly further added.

Kelly said to employees, “We know these decisions will cause difficulty for you, your families and our team, and I sincerely wish we could avoid taking them.” The CEO blamed the state of Boeing’s business for these actions. He assured the employees of transparency and extend all professional support to them during the process.

Boeing: Other Major Decisions

The company will face further delay in rolling out a new plane, the 777X. The company is facing hurdles in the development process of the plane. The flight tests had been paused, and the company witnesses the stoppage in ongoing work. Boeing now expects the first delivery of the plane in 2026 instead of 2025.

Boeing will also stop the production of the cargo version of its 767 jet (767 Freighters) in 2027. However, the production for the KC-46A Tanker will continue, informed the CEO.

Boeing expects ‘substantial’ new losses in Boeing Defence, Space & Security (BDS) program in this quarter. This is on the back of work stoppage on commercial derivatives and continued program challenges. “In BDS, our performance on fixed-price development programs is simply not where it needs to be,” said the CEO.

Notably, Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the beginning of 2019. “We will re-focus our company, and we will restore trust with all those who depend on us,” the CEO said in conclusion.