Boeing: Aircraft manufacturer plans to cut 2,000 office jobs this year

Visitors climb steps to take a tour of a Boeing 777X jet airliner at the Farnborough Airshow.

Airplane maker Boeing plans to cut about 2,000 finance and human resources jobs this year as it focuses on engineering and manufacturing.

The move comes as the company invests more resources in “products, services and technology development.”

Some tasks are outsourced to Tata Consulting Services, a unit of one of India’s largest conglomerates.

Boeing has faced a number of issues in recent years, including grounding its 737 Max from flying after two deadly crashes.

“We have and will continue to communicate transparently with our teams that we anticipate downsizing in some of the company’s support functions,” the company told the BBC.

“As always, we will support affected teammates and provide assistance and resources to support their transition,” it added.

About a third of the jobs are outsourced to Tata Consulting Services based in Bangalore (aka Bengaluru).

However, Boeing also said it will continue to increase its workforce “with a focus on engineering and manufacturing.”

In addition to the 15,000 new hires in 2022, the company plans to hire an additional 10,000 this year.

The aviation giant has been working to turn its head around after its 737 Max passenger plane was grounded following two fatal crashes around the world.

On October 29, 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea 13 minutes after takeoff from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, killing all 189 passengers and crew.

Less than five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, another Boeing 737 Max en route to Kenya, crashed six minutes after leaving the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. All 157 people on board were killed.

It later emerged that both accidents were caused by design flaws, specifically the use of flight control software known as the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS).

The system was designed to help pilots familiar with previous generations of the 737 and prevent them from requiring costly additional training to fly the new model.

But sensor failures caused a malfunction, and in both cases forced the plane into a catastrophic dive that the pilots were unable to prevent.

Following aircraft modifications and pilot training, the 737 Max aircraft is now once again cleared for flight in most countries around the world.

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