--- title: "Boeing to Lay Off 17,000 Workers As Crisis Deepens" description: "Boeing announced plans to fire 10 percent of its workforce, and will start sending out thousands of layoff notices in the coming month." date: "2024-10-15" modified: "2024-10-15" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-lay-off-17000-workers" categories: - "Advanced Transport" - "Boeing" - "Space" tags: - "737 max" - "boeing" - "starliner" - "the digest" --- # Boeing to Lay Off 17,000 Workers As Crisis Deepens ![Boeing announced plans to fire 10 percent of its workforce, and will start sending out thousands of layoff notices in the coming month.]() *\Image: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty\* ## Job Culling Amid a disastrous year and an [ongoing strike](), Boeing announced last week that it will fire a staggering ten percent of its workforce, or about 17,000 employees. And now, on Tuesday, [*Reuters* reports]() that thousands of these layoff notices will start going out within the coming month, as it heads into increasingly dire financial straits. Beyond the safety blunders of its airplanes and the [embarrassing failure]() of its Starliner spacecraft, Boeing has failed to reach an agreement with The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), which represents some 33,000 of its West Coast employees. On September 13, machinists [overwhelmingly rejected]() the union's tentative deal with Boeing that outlined a 25 percent wage increase over four years. Since then, 33,000 workers [have been on strike](), in the hopes of reaching a 40 percent increase. The massive layoffs, however, could threaten to break the strike. "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," said IAM president Brian Bryant in a statement, as quoted by *Reuters*. ## Year to Forget In hindsight, the midair [door plug blowout]() on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 airliner in January was just an omen of the cavalcade of crises to come for the aerospace company. The near-disastrous incident kicked off heightened regulatory and media scrutiny of Boeing's [manufacturing practices](), which consequently raised questions about its alleged [poor working conditions](), too. The untimely [deaths of two Boeing whistleblowers]() only scandalized things further. All the while, the company has struggled to keep up manufacturing of several of its aircraft, including its flagship 777X jetliner, [announcing a one-year delay]() this week. Though it has not changed its official production target, Boeing [has signaled]() that there will be major delays with the 737 MAX, its most popular jetliner, as well. The company's efforts in the final frontier have similarly fallen flat. In its debut mission, the [Starliner spacecraft]() that brought astronauts to the International Space Station sprung helium leaks and was considered [too unsafe]() to bring two — [now stranded]() — astronauts back home on its return trip. ## Last Resort Boeing's stock position, needless to say, has reflected its disaster streak. As of Monday, shares in the company are down by 42 percent year-to-date, [per *Barrons*](). Cash flow is also a problem. Analysts estimate that the strike is costing the company upwards of [$100 million per day](). With yet another quarter in the red, the company's core operating losses since 2019 [are over $33 billion](). According to [reports](), Boeing is now seeking to raise some $35 billion from bank loans and stock options — a last ditch effort to bail itself out of its horrendous position. **More on Boeing:** *[Grounded Astronauts Angry They Were Forced to Give Up Their Seats for Stranded Starliner Crew]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()