Boeing sends 668 layoff notices

Boeing's first wave of layoff notices in the Puget Sound region this year, with 668 layoffs scheduled in March and April, is causing friction with the Machinists union.

Those affected include 190 members of the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union who do facilities maintenance work, including carpenters, painters, plumbers, vehicle mechanics heating and air-conditioning technicians. They are set for layoff March 20.

The total also includes 460 employees in the Engineering, Operations & Technology unit, who provide IT and other support functions. That group likely includes members of the white-collar Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) union. However, neither Boeing nor SPEEA immediately could say how many union members are affected in this group. They are scheduled for layoff April 3.

The inclusion of the facilities workers has riled the IAM.

Protection of the facilities maintenance staff was the subject of intense negotiation during the contract talks last fall and the IAM interprets the contract language reached then to mean that no facilities people can be laid off until all contract employees in those roles are gone.

"We see far too many contractors on site, and our expectation is that Boeing will release those individuals and return that work to our members to prevent any potential layoffs," said IAM district president Tom Wroblewski in a letter to his facilities maintenance members. "We put Boeing on notice that this was our interpretation. ... The Union will continue to press the Company on this matter."

The layoff notices for all 668 support positions went out at the end of January. A further set of layoff notices will go out to workers in the Commercial Airplane unit before February 20. Boeing expects to add further positions each month until it achieves the cuts laid out earlier this month.

The Commercial Airplane unit plans to cut 4,500 positions in the Puget Sound region, while other units of the company will cut at least 800 more here. The company's Intergrated Defense Systems unit has not said how many local jobs will be cut.

Companywide, Boeing said it will cut a total of 10,000 jobs this year.

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