The latest employment adjustments are rattling some employees and angering union officials at a time when Boeing leaders are trying to rebuild the company’s culture
By Julie Johnsson
Boeing Co. is eliminating about 300 supply chain jobs from its defense division, and is notifying affected workers this week, according to a person familiar with the move.
The job cuts are spread across a number of sites around the country, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the matter is confidential. The workforce reduction comes at a time when companies like Amazon.com Inc. and United Parcel Service Inc. are paring jobs and closely monitoring headcount.
Workforce changes are also under way at Boeing’s commercial airplanes division. Seattle-area engineers were notified Jan. 30 that all remaining work on the 787 Dreamliner program will be shifted to South Carolina, where Boeing earlier consolidated manufacturing of its widebody jet, union officials said. About 250 to 300 workers will be affected.
“Boeing regularly evaluates and adjusts its workforce to stay aligned to our commitments to our customers and communities,” the company said in an emailed statement, responding to a query on the defense layoffs.
Boeing is still in hiring mode, with more than 1,300 job openings, and is working to help affected defense employees find other positions at the company, the person said.
The planemaker’s headcount stood at 182,000 people at the end of 2025, rising by about 10,000 workers from a year earlier, according to federal filings. Boeing has been hiring as it integrates newly acquired Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc., steps up commercial jet production and begins work on the stealthy F-47 fighter jet for the Pentagon.
The latest employment adjustments are rattling some employees and angering union officials at a time when Boeing leaders are trying to rebuild the company’s culture and return it to sound financial footing. The largest US exporter is preparing for labor negotiations with the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents around 16,000 engineers and technical workers whose contract expires in October.
The 787 announcement blindsided union officials, who say they’d been assured a day earlier that there “were no company decisions in the foreseeable future” that might impact employment levels for SPEEA members, said Ray Goforth, the union’s executive director.
The company’s handling of the matter and treatment of workers worried about losing their jobs “casts a pall over upcoming contract negotiations,” he said.
Boeing’s plans to trim its defense staff were reported earlier by a Seattle NBC affiliate but did not include the specific number of jobs, among other details.
