Yesterday, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced that more than 161.000 employees will lose their jobs due to the consequences of the corona crisis. For the time being, the layoff affects only personnel in the United States. It is not yet known what will happen to personnel outside the United States. This mass layoff should reduce costs in the company. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing has approximately 5500 employees worldwide, most of which operate in the United States. XNUMX employees work in Europe.

“Following the announcement of a reduction in strength that we made last month, we completed our Voluntary Redundancy Program (VLO),” said CEO Dave Calhoun in a Verkaring to the staff. “And now we have come to the unfortunate time when we have to start with involuntary redundancies (ILO). "We let the first 6.770 of our US team members know this week they will be affected."

Air traffic has come to a standstill almost all over the world due to the corona crisis. Many airlines are in financial difficulties. Demand for new aircraft has fallen to an all-time low and airlines are trying to postpone planned orders. Aircraft manufacturer Boeing also expects airlines to need fewer planes in the coming years due to the corona crisis. Boeing has previously made a voluntary departure scheme for 5.520 employees. All together this comes down to a mass layoff of over 13.000 staff.

“Our industry will return, but it will take several years to return to what it was two months ago. The best way to go through it is that we all remain true to what Boeing traditionally stood for: values, integrity, quality, reliability, know-how, resilience and commitment to our customers' needs. Let's work together to make sure we are those things. For our future. For each other. For everyone who is counting on us, ”said CEO Dave Calhoun in a statement to staff.

Also read: Cabinet does not yet provide guarantees for long-term holidays