Boeing starts issuing layoff notices to cut 17,000 jobs, 10% of its workforce

Boeing sending out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in mid-November was widely expected

Boeing is issuing layoff notices to cut 17,000 jobs or 10% of its global workforce, news agency Reuters reported.

A Boeing 737 MAX sits outside the hangar during a media tour of the Boeing 737 MAX at the Boeing plant in Renton, Washington December 8, 2015 (Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters)

The employees receiving the notices this week will stay on the heavily indebted planemaker's payroll till January to comply with federal rules that mandate a 60 days' notice to workers before ending their employment.

Boeing sending out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in mid-November was widely expected, the report read.

“As previously announced, we are adjusting our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities," the report quoted Boeing as saying in a statement. "We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time."

This comes at a time when Boeing's new CEO Kelly Ortberg is trying to revive the production of its highest-selling 737 MAX (It raised more than $24 billion in October) after more than 33,000 US West Coast workers led a huge strike, crippling the output of most of its commercial jets.

The layoffs have weighed heavily on employee morale over the last few months, with many on Wednesday waiting for a phone call or Zoom meeting with a boss to know if they would lose their jobs or not, according to the report.

All of this comes at a time when Boeing has gone from crisis to crisis, starting from January this year when a door panel blew off from a 737 MAX jet in mid-air, its CEO departing afterwards, regulators investigating its safety culture, and also the union strike which started on September 13.