MOSES LAKE, Wash. — Boeing said on Oct. 11 that the company was saddled with too much debt and, amid the machinists' worker strike, announced that it would reduce its workforce by about 10%.
The company says due to challenges involving its 777x Program, its 767 freighters that are still in production and its Defense, Space and Security division, the company is seeking to restructure its workforce to align with its financial reality.
Additionally, Boeing says the union vote that takes place on Monday, Nov. 4 on whether the strike will end will not affect the planned layoffs that will happen later in November.
The company-wide layoffs may affect facilities outside the headquarters, including one in Moses Lake where roughly 1,000 Boeing employees work.
“Maybe a number of them would try to move back to the west side of the state…I don’t think we as a community want to see them go. Overall, part of our history, traditions, etc., they really fit into who we are," said Moses Lake Mayor Dustin Swartz.
Swartz says local businesses may also feel the impact if Boeing's workforce in the city decreases.
“There are other entities in the county and the area that want them to stay, including myself. Knowing that there are a bunch of entities out at the port that support Boeing services," said Swartz.
Mayor Swartz also says other companies in aerospace and battery manufacturing have established a foothold in the area but is unsure if they would be able or willing to absorb the workers that Boeing may lay off.
Some other manufacturing facilities in Moses Lake include Group-14, Sila Nanotechnologies and 1D which manufacture batteries, Twelve which works to create sustainable aviation fuel and Greenpoint, Aerotech, Stoke Space Technologies and Sonico which lie in the general aerospace field.
A spokesperson for Boeing says the layoffs are not being regionalized, so it is unclear who may be affected.
According to a report from a Boeing source, Boeing managers will receive and deliver layoff notices starting Nov. 13 and affected employees' last day on payroll will be Jan. 17, 2025.