Boeing lays off hundreds in Washington and California as part of cuts announced previously

SEATTLE (news agencies) — Boeing has laid off hundreds of additional employees in Washington state and California as part of planned cuts that will eventually reduce the company’s workforce by about 17,000.

Nearly 400 Boeing employees were laid off in Washington state and more than 500 in California, news outlets reported Monday.

The aerospace giant announced previously it would reduce its workforce by 10% in the coming months as it tries to recover from financial and regulatory troubles and a strike by its machinists that lasted almost two months.

CEO Kelly Ortberg has said the strike did not cause the layoffs, which he said was the result of overstaffing.

In November, the company started notifying workers who would be laid off. Notices filed with state employment agencies showed the first round of cuts impacted about 3,500 people around the country, The Seattle Times reported.

Those cuts touched people in roles from engineers to recruiters to analysts and impacted Boeing’s commercial, defense and global services divisions.

Boeing has said most laid-off employees remain on payroll for about two months and will receive severance pay, career transition services and subsidized health insurance benefits for up to three months.

“As announced in early October, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities,” Boeing spokespeople have said about the layoffs.

Boeing, based in Arlington, Virginia, has been in financial trouble since two crashes of its 737 Max jetliner killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. The company’s fortunes and reputation took an additional hit when a panel blew off the fuselage of an Alaska Airlines plane in January.