Poor Boeing workers retrenching now!
http://money.cnn.com/2017/03/17/news/companies/boeing-signals-may-layoffs/
Boeing plans layoffs for May
by Jon Ostrower @jonostrower March 17, 2017: 5:51 PM ET
See a Boeing Dreamliner built in under 2 minutes
See a Boeing Dreamliner built in under 2 minutes
Boeing sent a notice to employees at its commercial jet factories Friday warning of layoffs in May.
Workers at the company's Washington state factories were informed by their union that Boeing had issued a federally-required notice that "involuntary layoffs were scheduled for May."
A Boeing spokesman confirmed the 60-day notice, but declined to say precisely when it would initiate the layoffs.
Related: Boeing moves ahead with job cuts as 1,800 take buyouts
Boeing (BA) has been cutting staff to reduce costs since early 2016, primarily through buyouts and the attrition of executives, managers and engineering staff. The notices are the first official signal from the company that it will lay off some of the factory workers who assemble its jets.
A person familiar with the notices said this latest round of cuts in May would affect fewer than 500 staff.
The Machinists union in Seattle, which represents thousands of Boeing employees, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After years of record buying, the pace of orders for Boeing's twin-aisle jets, including its 777 and 787 Dreamliners, has slowed significantly. Boeing is cutting back current-generation 777 production, its most profitable large jet, by nearly 60% from its peak.
Related: Boeing's Iran deal won't prevent production cut
Boeing is adjusting its employment to account for that lost revenue and is under pressure to offer better prices to airlines while promising Wall Street improved profit margins.
As of last month, Boeing had 148,000 workers. About half its employees work in its commercial aircraft unit, where the buyout offers were made. The company had already cut the jetliner unit's head count by 9% in the past year.
--CNNMoney's Chris Isidore contributed to this report
http://www.seattletimes.com/busines...pt-voluntary-buyouts-in-latest-round-of-cuts/
In latest Boeing job cuts, about 1,800 union workers take buyouts
Originally published March 2, 2017 at 11:30 am Updated March 2, 2017 at 4:41 pm
Boeing 777 fuselage sections in various stages of production, at Everett’s final assembly line. The assembly line is being re-configured in preparation for 777X. Photo taken Friday December 9th, 2016.
Boeing 777 fuselage sections in various stages of production, at Everett’s final assembly line. The assembly line is being re-configured in preparation for 777X. Photo taken Friday December 9th, 2016.
About 1,800 union employees at Boeing accepted voluntary buyouts last month as the jet maker continues to cut jobs in the state. Boeing declined to release any figures, so the number of nonunion cuts is unknown. Further cuts are expected through the year.
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Dominic Gates By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter
More than 1,800 union members will soon leave Boeing under a buyout plan offered last month, the first step in a continuing company job-cutting effort that’s expected to include layoffs later this year.
The Machinists union said 1,500 of its members applied for a buyout and were approved to leave the company.
The engineering union at Boeing said 305 of its members were approved and are expected to leave the company in April.
Machinists who accepted the buyout got one week of severance pay for each year of service up to a maximum of 26 weeks pay, plus six months of medical coverage at the same rate as when employed.
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Engineering staff got the same severance pay package, but with only three months of medical coverage.
Boeing declined to release any figures, so the number of nonunion job cuts is unknown.
These cuts are just the beginning, with more to follow through the year.
Boeing slashed almost 7,400 jobs in the state last year.
Then in December, Boeing Vice Chairman Ray Conner and the new chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister, issued a joint message to employees warning that “fewer sales opportunities and tough competition” would drive further cuts in 2017.
International Association of Machinists spokeswoman Connie Kelliher said Boeing has not indicated to the union what its end target is for job cuts this year.
“We don’t know if this round of buyouts fulfilled what they were looking for,” said Kelliher.
Last year, Boeing cut 2,100 Machinist jobs, all through attrition or voluntary buyouts, with no forced layoffs.
Bill Dugovich, a spokesman for the engineering union, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA), said Boeing management last week told the union that if there are any further rounds of buyouts this year, they will be more limited, targeting very specific groups of employees.
In a January memo to Boeing’s engineering staff, John Hamilton, vice president of engineering at Commercial Airplanes, said there will be two additional rounds of buyouts and layoffs in engineering later this year.
Dugovich said Boeing has told union officials to expect the total number of job cuts in 2017 to be “in line with last year.”
Last year, SPEEA lost about 1,200 members, with 350 of those cuts being involuntary layoffs.
Boeing spokesman Paul Bergman said the February buyouts were a continuation of the process announced in December, with the company aiming to achieve the job cuts “through a combination of attrition, leaving open positions unfilled, voluntary layoff program and in some cases, involuntary layoffs.”
“Every few months, there’s going to be another group going through this,” he said.
