Boeing giving layoff warnings to 130 workers

Boeing plans to give 60-day layoff notices to about 130 workers companywide today, with about 50 of those in the Puget Sound region, mostly in the commercial-airplane division.

Boeing has been issuing layoff notices monthly since January, when it said it planned to cut 10,000 positions from its baseline employment of 163,356 on Nov. 30, 2008.

Through the end of September, Boeing employment was down by just over 5,000 jobs companywide.

However, company spokesman Tim Healy said the number of jobs cut is greater than appears, because the current employment total includes acquisitions made on the defense side this year.

In June and July, employment at the defense division at Boeing grew by 1,700 jobs, even as job cuts continued.

The commercial-airplane unit, which said in January it would account for 4,500 of the 10,000 planned cuts, is down just under 3,700 people from the November baseline.

Boeing's purchase of the Vought plant in Charleston, S.C., hasn't affected those figures. Healy said the workers there won't be added to Boeing's official employment tally until its fiscal year ends in December.

Boeing's Washington work force at the end of last month stood at just over 73,300, down more than 3,500 since the most recent high last October.

Company Chairman and Chief Executive Jim McNerney will give an update on progress toward his downsizing goal on Oct. 21 when third-quarter earnings are released.