Boeing Sheffield facing further job cuts next year

The £40m facility on Sheffield Business Park closed temporarily and shed staff earlier this year when the US aerospace giant targeted a 10 per cent cut to its 160,000 staff, due to the impact of Covid-19 on air travel.

It came on top of dozens of cancelled orders for the 737 Max - the model involved in two accidents in 2019 killing a total of 346 people.

Earlier this year, Boeing Sheffield employed more than 75 staff.

Now, Boeing president and chief executive Dave Calhoun is warning of another 10 per cent cut in numbers in 2021.

He said: “As we align to market realities, our business units and functions are carefully making staffing decisions to prioritise natural attrition and stability in order to limit the impact on our people and our company. We anticipate a workforce of about 130,000 employees by the end of 2021.”

He added: “Our overall business continuity efforts and the diversity of our customer base, including our government, defense and space customers, provided some relief as we made difficult decisions and delivered on our commitments.”

A Boeing Sheffield spokesman said the factory had remained open since the first lockdown.

He added: “With the exception of a few weeks during the first wave, Boeing Sheffield has remained open in 2020 in adherence with government guidelines, with employees working from home if they are able to do so.”

The factory makes parts for the trailing edge of wings for the 737 and 767 aeroplanes.

Deliveries of 737 Max aircraft were stopped in March 2019, a few days after the second fatal accident. The crashes were attributed to flaws in automated flight software which prompted the planes to nosedive shortly after take-off.

Last month, the 737 Max was cleared to fly again, with changes to their design, while pilots would need retraining.

Earlier this month Brazil's Gol became the first airline to resume commercial flights with the Boeing 737 Max.

American Airlines said it expected its 737 Max flights in the US to resume on December 29.

Last week, US Senate investigators said Boeing officials ‘inappropriately coached’ test pilots during efforts to re-certify the planes.

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