Boeing announces layoffs; reduction in orders predicted

Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes unit plans to reduce its employment by approximately 20,000 to 30,000 people by the end of 2002. This includes a reduction in related support personnel at Boeing’s Shared Services Group.

The company predicts that deliveries for 2001, which had been expected to be 538 aircraft, could be as low as 500 depending on customer ability to take delivery in the near term. For 2002, deliveries are estimated to be in the low 400s, compared to the 510 to 520 previously forecast.

Current estimates for 2003 indicate a downward delivery trend will continue.
The company says these estimates are in line with the initial 20 percent capacity reduction
projections provided by U.S. carriers and its assessment of world airline traffic trends.

It is not yet clear how many of Boeing’s 3,000 Canadian workers face layoffs.
Bombardier Inc.’s aerospace unit has already cut 640 employees, 13% of its staff, and may cut more in the wake of the slump in the airline market.