Boeing to Cut About 5% of Commercial Airplane Jobs as 737 Production Ramp Slows

In a message to staff, Stephanie Pope, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said: "Adjusting our production schedules and reducing aircraft output puts us in an overstaffed position." The division employed about 50,500 people at the end of 2025, so the reduction amounts to roughly 2,500 jobs, according to AeroTime's calculation. The cuts will come through a mix of layoffs and attrition, and notices to affected employees could be issued from December.

The decision shows that Boeing's recovery is still limited by its factories rather than by demand. The commercial unit ended September with more than 6,300 aircraft on order, a backlog the company values at a record $612 billion. Buyers, including the large Gulf carriers, are waiting for those jets, and every month of delay in raising output pushes deliveries back.

Pope said the slower schedule was meant to give Boeing's plants and its suppliers more time to stabilise before moving to higher rates. According to AFP, she told employees the company had "not yet fully recovered" and promised to treat them with "dignity and respect". She also cited this year's US certification of the 737 MAX 7 and 737 MAX 10 as signs of progress.

Boeing began raising 737 output from 42 to 47 aircraft a month in the second quarter of 2026 with approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, and had expected to hold the higher rate by the summer. On the company's October earnings call, chief executive Kelly Ortberg pushed that target into early 2027 and said Boeing would miss its 2026 goal for 737 deliveries. "I'm expecting it'll take us into next year to get fully stable at this rate," Ortberg said on October 27. He pointed to the need for more predictable wing production and fuselage output at the company's Kansas operation.

The following step, from 47 to 52 jets a month, has been pushed back to the second half of 2027, AFP reported. On the 787 Dreamliner, Boeing had aimed for 10 aircraft a month, but production stayed at eight a month in the third quarter.

The commercial division delivered 161 aircraft in the three months to September, including 124 737s and 22 Dreamliners, and booked 300 net orders. It reported an operating loss of $697 million on revenue of $10.7 billion for the quarter.

Investors treat higher 737 output as the main route back to revenue and profit growth for Boeing, which has spent years absorbing losses after safety problems that included two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019. Boeing shares were down less than 0.1 per cent after midday on Monday, according to AFP.

The first layoff notices are due as early as December. The company has not given a date for reaching 47 jets a month beyond early 2027.