Boeing to cut 17,000 jobs and delay first 777X delivery as strike hits finances

By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson

(Reuters) -U.S. planemaker Boeing (BA) will cut 17,000 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce, delay first delivery of its 777X jet by a year and expects substantial new losses in its defense business as a month-long strike batters company finances, CEO Kelly Ortberg said on Friday.

Ortberg said in a message to employees that the company must reset its workforce levels “to align with our financial reality” after a strike by around 30,000 U.S. West Coast workers shuttered production of its 737 MAX, 767 and 777 jets.

“We reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and to a more focused set of priorities. Over the coming months, we are planning to reduce the size of our total workforce by roughly 10 percent. These reductions will include executives, managers and employees,” Ortberg’s message said.

Ortberg also said Boeing has notified customers that the company now expects first delivery of its 777X in 2026 due to the challenges Boeing has faced in development, as well as from the flight-test pause and ongoing work stoppage.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert and David Shepardson; editing by Rod Nickel)