Boeing to cut staff, plane output after big Q1 loss

New York: Boeing announced sweeping cost-cutting measures Wednesday after reporting a first-quarter loss of $641 million following the hit to the airline business from the coronavirus pandemic.

The aerospace giant plans to reduce its workforce by 10 percent through a combination of voluntary and involuntary layoffs and will slash production of its main commercial planes, including the 787 and 777, Chief Executive David Calhoun said in a message to employees that accompanied an earnings release.

“The aviation industry will take years to return to the levels of traffic we saw just a few months ago,” Calhoun said. “We have to prepare for that.”

Calhoun said the job cuts would be deeper — more than 15 percent — in commercial airplanes and services, as compared with defense and space systems, where the business has been more stable.