As strike ends, layoffs begin at Boeing

Boeing began notifying employees of layoffs Wednesday as it seeks to reduce its roughly 170,000-strong workforce by 10%.

“Most affected U.S. employees will be notified mid-November and leave the company on Jan. 17,” a Boeing spokesperson said in a statement. “We are supporting these teammates with additional resources such as severance pay and career transition services."

The layoffs come as Boeing machinists return to work after an eight-week strike that dealt a blow to Boeing’s operations and bottom line.

RELATED: Machinists approve latest Boeing contract offer, ending strike

Boeing has a backlog of more than 5,400 airplanes, according to an email to employees shared with KUOW. The company says it will be several weeks before production ramps back up because of worker retraining and other protocols.

The layoffs could have ripple effects on Washington’s economy, according to Anneliese Vance-Sherman, chief labor economist for the state's Economic Security Department.

“We know that there are other aerospace manufacturers that connect with Boeing. We know that there are other machine shops across Washington state that connect with Boeing,” Vance-Sherman said. “We also know that there are going to be some industries that we don't think about, you know, offices of lawyers, for example, that focus on manufacturing.”

In addition to the direct impact on other businesses, layoffs at Boeing create uncertainty and cause workers and their families to tighten their belts and be more cautious about spending.

RELATED: Could be a decade before Boeing is back to normal, analyst says

“When we see workers being laid off or uncertainty, this does tend to ripple through the local economy and shows up with impacts such as reduced demand for dining out, for example," Vance-Sherman said.

The recently resolved strike by Boeing machinists might serve as a precursor for what is to come with layoffs.

Vance-Sherman noted that Washington recorded a decline of close to 36,000 jobs in October due to the strike, though that's expected to be a temporary drop.