Boeing said on Wednesday that it will lay off more than 6,700 workers this week as it reopens from the economic shutdown in the United States due to the novel coronavirus pandemic
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th May, 2020) Boeing said on Wednesday that it will lay off more than 6,700 workers this week as it reopens from the economic shutdown in the United States due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"Following the reduction-in-force announcement we made last month, we have concluded our voluntary layoff (VLO) program," Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement. "And now we have come to the unfortunate moment of having to start involuntary layoffs (ILO). We're notifying the first 6,770 of our US team members this week that they will be affected."
In April, Boeing announced that it would cut 10 percent of its worldwide workforce of 160,000 by the end of 2020.
Calhoun said the layoffs were part of actions aimed at making Boeing lean and focused on the post-pandemic needs of its customers.
"We are seeing some green shoots," Calhoun said. "Some of our customers are reporting that reservations are outpacing cancellations on their flights for the first time since the pandemic started. Some countries and US states are starting cautiously to open their economies again. And some parts of our business, most notably on the defense side, will continue hiring to meet customer commitments and fill critical skill positions,"
Earlier this month, Boeing reported that it did not receive a single order in April, while it was also grappling with 108 order cancellations for its grounded 737 MAX airplane. The company reported a loss of $1.35 billion in the first quarter on a revenue of $16.9 billion.
