Boeing Co. to lay off thousands during the year

Boeing Co., one of the world’s aviation giants, has not stopped firing employees since the dreadful 9/11 terrorist attacks and this year will be no exception. The megabuck company is projecting to furlough as many as 35,000 workers now that the commercial aircraft division has virtually slashed output by half due to the downturn in air travel.

“The company has been bound to weather the worst storm in commercial aviation since the Wright Brothers,” Boeing’s CEO Philip Condit pointed out. He warned the company’s books are thinning out though he refused to disclose whether there’ll be more layoffs in the future.

Mr. Condit explained Boeing’s goal to make some 280 aircraft this year “seems to be pretty much in the bag,” despite the unprecedented dent the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak have made in the travel industry.

“I tell you, this is the worst crisis since the invention of airplanes. All of the world’s airlines have felt its ripple effects,” he said.

According to Mr. Condit, Boeing is holding on to its projected output of 275 and 300 jetliners for 2004 as he added “the only question mark so far” is the impact the SARS epidemic might have on travel.

However, these figures will be the lowest ever chalked up by Boeing since 1996 when the company manufactured only 271 planes.

Mr. Condit concluded these hard times had vindicated the companies’ strategy of fleshing out their business operations in recent years by hooking up with the Pentagon through acquisitions. Last year, around 53 percent of Boeing’s revenues stemmed from commercial airliners while the remaining 47 percent came from the defense sector.