By Hannah Denham and William Thornton
(Kayode Crown)
Boeing plans to lay off 158 employees in Huntsville next year, as part of a planned 10% cut to its workforce across the country.
The layoffs will begin on Jan. 17, according to a notice the company filed with the Alabama Department of Commerce.
“As previously announced, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” a Boeing spokesperson said in an email to AL.com today. “We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time.”
The defense contractor – based in Arlington, Virginia and a major employer in Huntsville – announced in October that it would lay off nearly 17,000 employees nationally, including executives, managers and other workers.
“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Kelly Ortberg, the CEO of Boeing, wrote in an October release to employees. “Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our 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.”
Back in May, Boeing announced plans to lay off 128 workers in Huntsville.
The Associated Press reported that Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019, and since September, 33,000 union machinists have been striking, delaying airplane production.
Earlier this fall, the company looked to raise up to $19 billion in a stock offering to raise cash in face of the strike.
The latest round of layoffs in Huntsville, noted in a WARN notice filing dated Nov. 15 and made public as of Tuesday, will impact most of the employees in mid-January. Employees who are eligible will receive severance pay, career transition support and subsidized health care benefits up to three months after they’re laid off, Boeing said.
Boeing’s employee base in the Huntsville metro has grown gradually from 3,000 in 2005 to 3,300 currently, AL.com previously reported.
Federal law requires large employers to file a public WARN notice with the state 60 days in advance of mass layoffs or plant closures.
