Boeing To Lay Off 510 Workers As Shuttle Program Ends

(Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) will lay off about 510 employees in its Space Exploration division as the United States' space shuttle program draws to a close.

There will no material impact on the company as a result of the job cuts, a spokesman for Boeing's Space Exploration division told Reuters.

The last workday for workers is scheduled to be August 5, pending completion of the final shuttle mission, the company said in a statement.

The United States is retiring its three-ship fleet due to high operating costs and to free up funds to develop new spacecraft that can travel beyond the space station's 220-mile-high (346-km-high) orbit.

Earlier this week, space shuttle Endeavour touched down at its Florida home base, ending the next-to-last mission in the space shuttle program.

Shuttle Atlantis is slated to launch on July 8 on NASA's final planned shuttle mission.

Shares of the Chicago-based Boeing closed at $74.84 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

(Reporting by Abhishek Takle in Bangalore, Editing by Jonathan Thatcher)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[97229]

11:56 AM on 06/06/2011

I'm sure that those being layed off this as an "impact".

[BVictor1]

02:27 PM on 06/06/2011

Corporate America at its finest...

[HowietheScreamer]

09:59 AM on 06/06/2011

Meanwhile they are hiring some 3000 more in Seattle. Of course that doesn't make as much a flashy article as "the big nasty company laying off 500 people", now does it?

[ecrichert12]

12:43 PM on 06/06/2011

and more in South Carolina if the government gets out of the way

[AZreb]

09:52 AM on 06/06/2011

"No impact" on the company, but 510 more workers lining up for jobs at McDonald's.

[comicpro]

07:45 AM on 06/06/2011

I work with Boeing on some contracts for the Air Force and all I will say is they should stick to making airplanes only! They truly are not good at anything else. Oh and that Dreamliner project is what 3 years behind now? Airbus is kicking their teeth in with the A380 which I took from Dubai to London two weeks ago on emerites. What a great aircraft!! Monster plane though!!!!!

[HowietheScreamer]

10:01 AM on 06/06/2011

LOL... your ignorance is stunning. Kicking Boeing's teeth in with A380???? Dude, the thing has been on sale for a decade and sold only 200 copies. You whine about Boeing 787 being 3 years late then sing the praises of the A380, which was... wait for it... 3 years late.

[comicpro]

10:13 AM on 06/06/2011

Ignornace is stunning. Let me see one is in service flying and the other is still on a drawing board....yeah I am the dummy but you keep F'ing that chicken. oh and speaking of sales I may a thing or two about aircraft sales and I must admit cancelled orders for the 787 are going well.And guess what those orders are being replaced with? Wait for it.......Jackwagon.

[Palito]

11:17 AM on 06/07/2011

Both companies messed up.

the A380 was super delayed, but is already in service and will be profitable. More units are being sold for the markets that need a high volume of passengers. (This is a plane for asian, middle eastern and major european carriers) After all there is no competition in its market (the 748 is a silly answer) . the bottleneck is the slow production line.

the 787 was a huge disaster in planning and management, however it also will eventually someday be profitable as well, since it has no competition in its market (767 replacement). The bottleneck will also be the slow production line.

[Mogamboguru]

01:19 AM on 06/06/2011

After WWII, laid off engineers from the aircraft industry went to Detroit and boosted the car manufacturers with their skills to hence unprecedented levels of ingenuity. But when a country has closed down almost almost all of her manufacturing sites and has moved the all respective jobs overseas, where to put all those engineers? Imagine, what good these people could do to the development of electric cars, etc. But noooooo - not anymore.

[Just19Percent]

03:26 AM on 06/06/2011

Organized labor killed off Detroit.

This pestilence has crept into Boeing, hence their migration away from the Seattle area.

[cyoohoos]

08:54 AM on 06/06/2011

Is it so hard to believe that there are these little people called MANAGERS who probably did a poor job and killed off Detroit?

Is it really the fault of the guy flipping burgers in a restaurant that there is nothing on the menu you really want to eat?

[G52]

04:15 AM on 06/07/2011

Total Nonsense..........

Deregulation and outsourcing......with a hefty helping of corporate greed is what has decimated manufacturing.

Overpaid upper level management and skimming profits have taken way more of a toll than anything from organized labor which has been on a steady decline. Sometimes you should think about what you spin.

[RobM1981]

05:03 AM on 06/06/2011

1. What 19 percent said
2. We have no idea what skills these people have. For all we know they're clerks. The article doesn't say.
3. The private space industry is gathering steam. It's one of the few growth industries in the USA. As long as unions don't wreck it, it should gainfully employ thousands of people for a long time.

[cyoohoos]

08:53 AM on 06/06/2011

Yeah, because the average American can't wait to talk a trip to space. They'd be sure to spend all their tax return money on that one

[Nightangle]

10:59 PM on 06/05/2011

Boeing has a large presence in China for decades. Boeing first naval airplane was designed and built by a Chinese. Their industrial complex alone is a magnificent site.

The move will cut over 500 jobs, and re-established in China. It's not cheap labor that caused the shift. It's China's labor force - engineers and advanced high end research.

[OhManOhMan]

09:44 PM on 06/05/2011

GM just hired 2,000 workers in CHINA

[senseandnonsense]

08:32 AM on 06/06/2011

They make a lot of money in CHINA by selling cars in CHINA to CHINESE. They don't need to pay shipping and are more competitive in CHINA. They've also hired many employees HERE.

[ruburnt]

08:45 AM on 06/06/2011

They sell a lot of cars in China clearly because the Chinese have no idea yet how much GM vehicles SUCK.......

[ipv4]

08:44 PM on 06/05/2011

They may have to cut more then that. I'm freaking tired of supporting the military industrialized complex. How about we give these people jobs building our infrastructure, something we need badly.

[vippy]

06:50 PM on 06/05/2011

What recovery - never was, never will be and the layoffs continue until the government hands us our
credit cards for necessities.

[Just19Percent]

03:29 AM on 06/06/2011

We are the government. There is no more allowance (aka "credit card for me!"), not even for necessities.

[Neico]

06:29 PM on 06/05/2011

Oh, so Boeing layoff workers, but they still continue to cheat the American taxpayers.

My understanding is that all these big companies that does business with the government, get taxpayers dollars to provide parts for the military, then turn-around and sell the parts back to the government more that the part actually cost??

Hmm hmm hmm

[Just19Percent]

03:30 AM on 06/06/2011

Called the profit motive. It's a part of something called Economics.

[Sample 12]

03:56 AM on 06/06/2011

...so is game theory and proper equilibrium.

[G52]

04:22 AM on 06/07/2011

Boeing just received $35 billion from our government to build 179 airborne tankers, but despite nearly $10 billion in profits from 2008 to 2010, it too paid no taxes, again thanks to foreign tax havens.

[super grass]

05:09 PM on 06/05/2011

The same thing will happen on an even larger scale if we end the Iraqistan occupation as Boeing is a large military contractor as well.

Stop war spending and lose jobs, keep the war spending and and well... keep the war spending. Dammed if we do and dammed if we don't.

[HowietheScreamer]

10:10 AM on 06/06/2011

Boeing makes more of it's money on Commercial airplanes, I know that doesn't fit with your rant, but it's the facts.

[KarasudaJay]

04:02 PM on 06/05/2011

Oh well, the shuttle program wasn't for the purpose of creating jobs.

[katooom]

03:50 PM on 06/05/2011

they can now get in line for their 99weeks of Obama money.

[Martha66]

09:29 PM on 06/05/2011

Funny...last I checked it was MY money. I've been paying into MY unemployment insurance fund for 27 years. Been fortunate enough to never have had to use it, as can happen with insurance. So, should this layoff happen to me, remember: it's MY money, not Obama's.

[msjimmied]

10:07 AM on 06/06/2011

You tell him! Fanned ya.

[UtahSlim]

01:50 PM on 06/05/2011

My question is why isn't the press/white house/public shaming them. They do not have to lay off these employees. They chose to. They have ample profits to cover their salaries, and ample resources to redirect them in more productive work. They should not be allowed to collect tens of billions in government contracts with this behavior.

[ipv4]

08:45 PM on 06/05/2011

It's what I call american disgusting version of capitalism and it needs to go.But yes, you are 100% right.

[Just19Percent]

03:32 AM on 06/06/2011

Am guessing you don't run a business?

[UtahSlim]

12:23 PM on 06/06/2011

I ran a successful small business for thirty years. I considered the employees my greatest asset and never let one go that was a 'keeper'. If there wasn't enough work, we would all adjust our schedules, or, preferably, go find more work. Eleven families counted on this employment. Boeing is certainly capable of the same, they had infinitely more resources than I did. Ironically, I would bet that my more of my fellow shareholders of Boeing agree with me, but we have little say in the matter. Tell me about your business experience.

[marijam]

01:44 PM on 06/05/2011

Typical of Boeing. As far as I know, they NEVER try to find other positions for those on a project that has ended. Employees for Boeing are nothing more than a number on a list.

[uncc49er]

07:09 PM on 06/05/2011

you have no clue what you are talking about.

[marijam]

06:51 AM on 06/06/2011

Oh, but I do. My family has a history with Boeing.

[G52]

04:08 AM on 06/07/2011

Sounds spot on to me and I have been around Boeing all my life.