Boeing says defense cuts will mean loss of 1,000 jobs

The job ax at Boeing is set to fall on the defense division, which until now has largely been spared companywide employment reductions.

The head of Boeing's Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), Jim Albaugh, told workers in an internal message Monday the division will eliminate about 1,000 jobs because of Pentagon budget cuts.

Boeing spokesman Dan Beck said Tuesday no decisions have been made about the 7,000 IDS employees in the Puget Sound region, mostly in Kent, Seattle and Renton, or when the cuts may occur.

"When decisions are made, they will be shared with our employees," Beck said in an e-mail. Albaugh's note said Boeing will start notifying affected employees this week.

Albaugh's message cited two main drivers of the employment reduction: a funding cut in the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program; and the Defense Department's stop-work order on the ground-vehicle portion of the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

Albaugh said the job cuts were needed "to keep ourselves competitive."

In January, Boeing CEO Jim McNerney said 10,000 jobs would be cut companywide this year through attrition and layoffs. Of that, 4,500 are to come from the commercial-airplanes unit, most of which is based here.

Beck, citing the regulatory "quiet period" before Boeing reports earnings next week, declined to clarify whether the 1,000 cuts are part of the 10,000 targeted or an addition.

In the first half of 2009, Boeing shed more than 3,500 jobs, including 2,659 in Washington.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes represents 2,300 of those job cuts and plans to contribute 1,000 more by not filling vacancies.

In the same period, the IDS division has added almost 400 positions, including 200 last month. Beck said the hiring was "to meet specific needs on various programs."

As of the end of June, IDS had a total 70,291 jobs, compared with 65,351 jobs in the commercial-airplanes unit and total Boeing employment of 158,744.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com