Boeing prepares layoff notices for thousands of workers

WASHINGTON/SEATTLE — Thousands of Boeing employees will get layoff notices within weeks, a union and industry sources said, as a senior US official flew to Seattle to try to ease a crippling strike.

Acting US Labor Secretary Julie Su's first in-person intervention comes days after Boeing unveiled plans to cut 17,000 jobs and take $5 billion in charges, continuing a year of tumult for the company.

"Acting Secretary Su is meeting with both parties today to assess the situation and encourage both parties to move forward in the bargaining process," a Department of Labor spokesperson said on Monday.

While Su has previously spoken with Boeing and the striking West Coast factory workers' union, it is her first time in Seattle meeting both sides in person.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, or IAM, said its lead negotiator Jon Holden had updated Su on the current talks, "stressing the Union's commitment to a negotiated contract that values our members' skills and dedication".

About 33,000 workers have been on strike since Sept 13, seeking a 40 percent wage increase over four years.

Boeing will next month send out 60-day notices to thousands of workers, including many in its commercial aviation division, meaning those staff members will leave the company in mid-January, one source familiar with the matter said.

A second phase of notices, if needed, could be rolled out in December, the source said.

A spokesperson for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents Boeing engineers, said the company informed the union on Monday that 60-day notices to its members would be issued on Nov 15.

A Boeing spokesperson said the company had shared information with managers, including plans for 10 percent reductions at its commercial unit involving both union and nonunion workers. The spokesperson added the striking IAM employees were not currently affected.

Brian Bryant, the IAM's international president, called the job-cut plan "corporate greed at its worst".

"Boeing just turned its back on 17,000 of its own workers — the same people who carried Boeing through crisis after crisis, year after year," he said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Boeing filed papers with the US markets regulator for raising up to $25 billion through a stock and debt offering and entered into a $10 billion credit agreement amid upcoming debt maturities.

It is looking to boost its finances, which have been strained because of a slump in production of its best-selling 737 MAX jet following a door panel blowout and the crippling strike.

Agencies Via Xinhua