Boeing to offer voluntary layoffs amid coronavirus crisis

Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, is reportedly set to offer voluntary layoffs and early retirement packages for its employees.

Two people who sought anonymity said the move is meant to mitigate the financial fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

According to one of the sources, incoming Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun is expected to detail the layoff plan by Thursday, 2 April. The plan will reportedly allow eligible employees who want to exit the company to do so with a pay and benefits package.

The aerospace company has more than 150,000 employees worldwide. Nearly half of the employees are based in Seattle in the US and some at the Boeing offices in Nairobi, South Africa and Ethiopia, among other countries.

Boeing has so far halted operations at its twin-aisle factory and other facilities in Seattle's Puget Sound area after an employee died from the Coronavirus and more than a dozen other employees infected.

According to Reuters, the layoffs had already been foreseen about a month ago due to “deferred aircraft deliveries and down payments due to a virus-related plunge in air travel forced Boeing to consider tougher steps to reduce cash outflow.”

The company which calls itself America's largest exporter has requested a USD60 billion bailout package from the US government in access to public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees.

The layoff plan comes three weeks after the US plane maker said it would freeze hiring and overtime pay except in certain critical areas to preserve cash.

The coronavirus pandemic has intensified the year-old crisis over the grounding of Boeing's 737 MAX following two fatal crashes that killed 346 people in a five-month span.