Boeing lays off over 2K employees in Washington state following strike, financial issues

Boeing has laid off over 2,000 workers in Washington state so far, the company said in a notice filed with the state's Employment Security Department on Monday.

The company announced it would be reducing 10% of its workforce last month, which would equal approximately 17,000 jobs. The layoffs come after the company faced multiple issues recently, including a machinist strike that lasted two months, and backlash over a series of safety issues and mechanical errors this year.

The reduction in Washington, where it has eliminated 2,199 jobs,  is only a fraction of its workforce in the state, which consisted of 66,000 workers last week, according to the Associated Press. The terminations have impacted workers in all three of the company's divisions: commercial airplanes, defense and global services.

Boeing managers have also made cuts in Arizona, Missouri, and South Carolina, the Seattle Times reported,  but the numbers for those terminations have not been released so far.

The company's CEO Kelly Ortberg also announced other changes in October to help Boeing recover from its setbacks this year, including delaying its 777X program until 2026, and ending the 767 freighter program in 2027.

"Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together," Ortberg said at the time. "Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company 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."

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage