Boeing is preparing to eliminate roughly 2,500 positions from its commercial airplane division, delivering another setback to Washington’s workforce. The aerospace giant is making the cuts as it struggles to increase production despite holding hundreds of billions of dollars in outstanding orders, as reported [1] by The Post Millennial.
The company plans to reduce its commercial airplane workforce by approximately 5% through attrition and involuntary layoffs. Notifications to affected employees are expected to begin in December, but Boeing has not disclosed how many positions will disappear in Washington.
The company also has not identified which facilities, programs, or employee groups will be affected. That leaves thousands of Washington workers waiting for details as Boeing adjusts its staffing to match aircraft production.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Stephanie Pope announced the reductions in a November 9 message to employees. She explained that slower production increases had left the division with more workers than it currently needed.
“Adjusting our production schedules and reducing aircraft output puts us in an overstaffed position,” Pope wrote, according to The Seattle Times.
The commercial airplane division employed nearly 50,500 people at the end of 2025. A 5% reduction would eliminate approximately 2,500 positions if the division’s staffing remains comparable.
Because the planned reductions include attrition, Boeing has not publicly determined how many employees will face involuntary layoffs. The distinction could affect the final number of workers who directly receive termination notices.
Boeing employs approximately 65,000 people across Washington, although that statewide figure also includes employees working outside the commercial airplane division. The company has not said which individual programs could bear the brunt of the reductions.
The announcement comes as continuing production difficulties hamper Boeing’s recovery. During its October 27 earnings call, the company said stabilizing 737 production at 47 aircraft per month was taking longer than anticipated.
Boeing expects consistent performance at that production rate to take until 2027. CEO Kelly Ortberg identified wing production as the principal bottleneck confronting the company’s manufacturing operation.
Improvements designed to accelerate work in the wing shop did not deliver all the anticipated gains. The disappointing results required Boeing to pursue additional changes and add capacity as it tries to increase aircraft output.
Boeing now targets monthly production of 52 aircraft during the second half of 2027. The company also expects to fall short of its 2026 goal of delivering 500 737 aircraft.
Those manufacturing problems persist even as Boeing sits on a substantial order book. Its commercial airplane division finished the third quarter with a record backlog exceeding 6,300 aircraft, valued at $612 billion.
The division nevertheless reported a quarterly operating loss of $697 million on approximately $10.7 billion in revenue. The combination of a massive backlog, production trouble, and another workforce reduction presents a stark picture for affected employees.
The staffing announcement follows a recent agreement involving Boeing’s engineering and technical employees. Workers approved new contracts roughly a month earlier, avoiding a potential strike and securing an immediate 10% wage increase, with most covered employees working in Washington.
Boeing had already announced a companywide workforce reduction of approximately 17,000 positions, or 10%, in 2024. The latest plan now adds another round of reductions within the commercial airplane division.
Other Washington employers have also announced job cuts. A November 2 Amazon filing detailed 95 positions in the state that were scheduled for elimination between December 7 and January 25.
Oracle disclosed 359 Washington job cuts with a November 13 separation date. Combined with 491 Seattle area positions eliminated earlier this year, those reductions bring Oracle’s Washington cuts to 850 in 2026.
Google, Zillow, and Salesforce also disclosed reductions affecting 52, 91, and 59 Washington employees, respectively. Boeing’s planned cuts add another major employer to the continuing wave of corporate downsizing hitting the state’s workforce.