According to recent reports, Boeing is set to fire approximately 17,000 employees by mid-January. The firings, representing roughly 10 percent of the aircraft manufacturer’s workforce, follow an intense labor dispute in which many employees went on strike.
Company officials claim the significant reduction in headcount aligns with Boeing’s dynamic strategic landscape. “We are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” the company said in a statement to Fox Business. Furthermore, the firings will reportedly encompass employees at all levels, including executives and managers.
Boeing’s newest CEO, Kelly Ortberg, who stepped into the role of leading the embattled company in August, noted that the manufacturer has faced challenging circumstances over the past few years. “Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Ortberg said about the state of the company. He further noted that leading the 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.”
Brian Ball, a Seattle-area senior manager at Boeing echoed the sentiment that tough decisions must be made at the business. “The state the business is in, we have to reduce headcount to deal with the reality we’re currently in. It’s tough. It’s hard on everybody,” he said. “I think they had to right-size the company. Boeing is a great company. They hire a lot of people, but sometimes I think they over-hire in certain areas, certain departments.”
The American Tribune has reported on a number of controversies Boeing has been faced with in recent years, such as the the failure of its Starliner aircraft which left astronauts stranded on the International Space Station, quality control issues, and speculation surrounding the untimely deaths of whistleblowers who spoke out against the company.
The Tribune reported earlier this year of the company’s former CEO, Dave Calhoun, who stepped down amid safety concerns with the company’s products. “My decision to step down as CEO at the end of this year is one the board has been prepared for and will result in a number of changes at a management and governance level moving forward,” Calhoun said in March. “As we begin this period of transition, I want to assure you, we will remain squarely focused on completing the work we have done together to return our company to stability after the extraordinary challenges of the past five years, with safety and quality at the forefront of everything that we do,” he said in the internal memo.
Furthermore, the alleged suicide of Boeing whistleblower John Barnett also generated headlines earlier this year. According to a “close family friend” of Barnett’s, the late whistleblower had claimed “I ain’t scared … but if anything happens to me it’s not suicide.”
“I know he did not commit suicide there’s no way. He loved life too much, he loved his family too much, he loved his brothers too much to put them through what they’re going through right now…I think somebody didn’t like what he had to say and wanted to shut him up and didn’t want it to come back on anyone so that’s why they made it look like a suicide,” the family friend said.
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