By Dan Catchpole and Allison Lampert
(Reuters) -Boeing will lay off more than 2,200 workers in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, according to documents released on Monday, as part of the heavily indebted U.S. plane maker's plan to cut 17,000 jobs, or 10%. of its global workforce. .
The aerospace giant began informing affected U.S. workers on Wednesday that they will remain on Boeing's (NYSE:) payroll through Jan. 17, to comply with federal requirements of notifying employees at least 60 days before ending their employment. .
News that Boeing would send out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) was widely expected in mid-November. Another round is expected in December.
In October, Boeing's new chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, said the company has no intention of “taking people out of production or engineering labs.” Industry observers have been waiting for the WARNINGS to get any indication of how the layoffs could affect workers at the company's major manufacturing centers.
However, several hundred engineers and production workers were among those given layoff notices last week.
The Society of Professional Aerospace Engineering Employees (SPEEA) said 438 of the union members at Boeing received layoff notices last week, including 218 engineers and 220 technicians.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District Lodge 837 in St. Louis said Boeing sent notices to 111 members, most of whom made wing components for the 777X.
Who is being fired appears to vary between sections within Boeing, several non-union workers who received WARNINGS told Reuters.
One Boeing Defense, Space & Security engineer said all but two or three members of her 12-person team were fired, while another said she was the only one on her roughly 20-person team who received a WARNING. Both said they provide vital support to production and design engineers, but are not considered to work in production.
Engineers interviewed by Reuters said cutting them means more work for those who remain. However, a Boeing retiree turned contractor who was also laid off said: “This is probably an opportunity to look around us and see who is doing nothing, who is dead weight. There are a lot of people like that at Boeing, who don't be productive, which are simply not essential.
The notices come as Boeing tries to restart production of its best-selling 737 MAX after a weeks-long strike by more than 33,000 U.S. West Coast workers halted production of most of its commercial planes.
Boeing declined to comment further Monday.
Boeing shares rose 2.7% to $143.90 on Monday afternoon.
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