Boeing cuts fewer than anticipated in 2006

Company officials aren't ruling out the possibility of more reductions.

BY MOLLY MCMILLIN

The Wichita Eagle

The proposed 900 job cuts expected at Boeing Wichita this year have not all come to pass.

So far this year, the company has let go 367 people. Another 28 workers have been issued 60-day layoff notices.

"Customer requirements made us keep a few more people on board than we anticipated," said Boeing Wichita spokesman Jarrod Bartlett. "Things are always changing."

However, "we do think there is the possibility of some future reductions," he said. "But we don't know when or how many."

In April, Boeing announced it would cut about 900 jobs -- about one in four people -- in three rounds of layoffs in Wichita.

Boeing had initially planned to issue layoff notices to 360 employees in April, 240 the end of June and 300 more in mid-November.

At the time, Boeing officials said the layoffs were due to a review of the current defense budget and future budgets plus a reassessment of the site's future business plan. Officials said Boeing's defense customers had informed them of significant shifts in their budgets and programs.

Since then, customers' requirements have changed, Bartlett said.

Besides layoffs, some of the job reductions were through normal attrition, he said. About 30 people were able to transfer into other jobs at Boeing.

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Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or mmcmillin@wichitaeagle.com.