Boeing Cuts 5% of Commercial Airplane Jobs as 737 Output Slows
Boeing will shrink its commercial airplane workforce by about 5% and slow the pace at which it raises aircraft production, the head of the division
Boeing will shrink its commercial airplane workforce by about 5% and slow the pace at which it raises aircraft production, the head of the division told employees in an email on Monday, November 9.
Stephanie Pope, who leads Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said the reduction will come through a mix of layoffs and attrition, meaning staff who leave and are not replaced. Employees who are affected will be told in December.
How many jobs are at stake
Boeing has not said how many people will be laid off. The division employed 50,494 people in December 2025, according to the company's website, out of about 182,000 across Boeing as a whole.
A 5% reduction of that commercial headcount would be roughly 2,500 positions. That figure is an estimate based on the headcount, not a number Boeing has given.
The company has not said which teams or locations will be hit.
Why Boeing says it is cutting
Pope told staff the company needs to "reset the pace of our production rate ramps." The pause, she said, gives Boeing's factories and its suppliers "time to achieve stability."
Lower output means fewer workers are needed. "Adjusting our production schedules and reducing aircraft output puts us in an overstaffed position," Pope wrote. "Unfortunately, that means we need to align our staffing levels to our revised business plans."
Production targets pushed back
Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg told analysts last month that Boeing would miss its 737 production and delivery targets this year. The company now expects to reach a rate of 47 737 jets a month in early 2027. It had earlier aimed to get there by summer 2026.
Ortberg also told investors Boeing will not significantly raise output of the 737 MAX, its best-selling jet, until the second half of next year. He said wing production has run slower than expected.
Boeing delivered 161 commercial airplanes in its latest quarter, one more than a year earlier.
First cuts since 2024
These are the company's first job reductions since Ortberg, who became CEO in 2024, eliminated 17,000 positions that year.
The announcement lands as Boeing tries to ramp up deliveries of its 737 MAX and 787 aircraft after years of regulatory scrutiny and quality problems. Boeing shares were slightly lower in midday trading on Monday.
Pope said the company still needs time to stabilize production, and the December notifications will show how many workers are affected.
