Layoffs for more than 6,000 Boeing employees includes number in SC due to coronavirus
Thousands of Boeing employees are being laid off because of the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the airline industry.
On Wednesday, Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said 6,770 of its employees in the U.S. were being notified about the involuntary layoffs, according to a news release.
The aircraft manufacturing giant previously said its planned to reduce its workforce by 10 percent (about 16,000 employees) and that would affect workers at Boeing’s South Carolina plant where final assembly on the 787 Dreamliner is done.
Boeing spokeswoman Elizabeth Holland confirmed to The State that the layoffs includes employees working at its North Charleston and Ladson facilities.
Information on the number of Boeing employees working in South Carolina losing their jobs was not available. At the beginning of the year, Boeing South Carolina had nearly 7,000 workers on staff.
This is the second wave of job reductions, as 5,520 Boeing employees across the U.S. previously took voluntary layoffs, according to Holland. She said that included an amount working in South Carolina.
“Now we have come to the unfortunate moment of having to start involuntary layoffs,” Calhoun said in the release. “We’re notifying the first 6,770 of our U.S. team members this week that they will be affected.”
The combined voluntary and involuntary layoffs brings Boeing “to more than half of (its) goal,” in reducing its workforce, Holland said.
More jobs will be cut based on future evaluation from the company and normal turnover, according to Holland.
Employees who have been laid off will receive severance pay, COBRA health care coverage, and career transition services, according to the release.
In addition to reducing the workforce at the North Charleston facility, production on the 787 will also be diminished, Boeing said in April. Boeing said it will make 10 of the widebody passenger jets per month this year, and that number will drop to seven per month in 2022 — with the hope that production will increase beyond then.
“The COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact on the airline industry means a deep cut in the number of commercial jets and services our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means fewer jobs on our lines and in our offices,” Calhoun said. “... I wish there were some other way.”
The news about layoffs comes a month after the South Carolina plant reopened following a temporary shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19.
That shutdown, and closing other Boeing facilities, cost the company $137 million, and overall the pandemic has cost the manufacturer $1.7 billion, CNN reported.
Since reopening the South Carolina facilities, Holland said there have been no further production impacts because of the coronavirus.
It has made adjustments to keep employees protected from the spread of COVID-19. According to Holland, some of the new safety implements include:
- Enhancing cleaning of all buildings, including pressure washing of restrooms and thorough cleaning of break areas, cafeterias, conference rooms and other community spaces
- Posting of signage throughout the site to help keep enhanced cleanliness top-of-mind
- Adding new hand sanitization stations across the site
- Installing visual cues to reinforce physical distancing practices particularly in conference rooms, cafes and other community spaces
- Encouraging all teammates to bring and wear cloth face coverings — some teammates will be required to wear procedural masks, which will be provided, in certain areas when working in close proximity
- Making voluntary temperature screening stations available for teammates on all shifts via no-touch thermal scanners
“Our industry will come back, but it will take some years to return to what it was just two months ago,” Calhoun said.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 12:19 PM.
