Boeing Commercial Airplanes Plans About 5% Workforce Cut

ARLINGTON, Virginia — Boeing Commercial Airplanes plans to reduce its workforce by about 5% through attrition and involuntary layoffs as it slows planned production increases, according to KMUW's reporting on a November 9 email to employees.

Stephanie Pope, president and CEO of the division, said revised production schedules and lower aircraft output had left it overstaffed. Factories and suppliers needed more time to stabilize, she said in the email reported by KMUW, which puts the division's workforce at about 50,000 people.

Layoff notifications are expected to begin in December, FOX 13 Seattle reported, citing an email it obtained from Boeing communications officials. The reports reviewed do not give a breakdown between layoffs and attrition.

Wichita and Tulsa Layoff Message

A separate message to local employees said staff in Wichita, Kansas, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, were not being considered for layoffs, voluntary separation or early retirement, KMUW reported.

Boeing employs about 13,000 people in Wichita, following its acquisition of the former Spirit AeroSystems facility in December 2025, according to KMUW.

737 MAX Production Targets

The staffing decision follows difficulties sustaining higher 737 MAX output. In Boeing's October 27 earnings call, CEO Kelly Ortberg said becoming fully stable at 47 aircraft per month would take into 2027. He distinguished that work from the next increase to 52 per month.

Ortberg said wing production was improving but had yet to demonstrate sustained performance at the level needed for 47 aircraft a month. He also identified Wichita fuselage production and the Everett assembly line as important to the next increase.

Boeing's October 27 results showed a US$697m commercial operating loss, with higher projected production-rate adjustment and supply-chain costs among the factors weighing on the division. Its backlog stood at more than 6,300 aircraft.

Ortberg said Boeing's financial plan targeted 52 aircraft per month in the second half of 2027. Reaching that rate depended on the Everett line being certified and producing, stable wing output and Wichita fuselages ready for higher rates, he told investors.