Boeing (BOE, Washington National) has again pushed back its first B777-9 and B777-8F deliveries, will end production of the B767F, and intends to axe around 17,000 workers, according to President and CEO Kelly Ortberg.
"Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together," Ortberg said in an October 11, 2024, message to employees.
He says the US aircraft manufacturer has told customers not to expect any B777-9s before 2026 and no B777-8Fs before 2028, around six years later than Boeing had initially planned to start deliveries. "On the 777X program, the challenges we have faced in development, as well as from the flight test pause and ongoing work stoppage, will delay our program timeline," Ortberg said. "We have notified customers that we now expect first delivery in 2026."
Boeing data indicates customers have ordered 481 B777X types, with the biggest orders coming from Emirates (205), Qatar Airways (74), and Singapore Airlines (31). Recently, Boeing grounded its B777-9 testbed fleet after a routine post-flight inspection revealed the failure of a piece of the structure that mounts the engine to the aircraft.
Logistics companies FedEx Express and UPS Airlines are awaiting the delivery of twelve and seventeen B767-300Fs, respectively. Ortberg said once that has happened, sometime in 2027, production of the B767F will end.
"Over the coming months, we are planning to cut the size of our total workforce by roughly 10%," said Ortberg. "These reductions will include executives, managers and employees... We need to be clear-eyed about the work we face and realistic about the time it will take to achieve key milestones on the path to recovery. We also need to focus our resources on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment."
Boeing's commercial aircraft division expects to recognise pre-tax earnings charges of USD3.0 billion on the B777X and B767F programs, including a USD2.4 billion charge for the B777X. Boeing has based this schedule and the resulting financial impact on an updated assessment of the certification timelines to address the delays in flight testing of the B777-9, as well as anticipated delays associated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers work stoppage.
