Boeing set to axe 5,000 jobs

AIRCRAFT maker Boeing is expected to announce as many as 5,000 more job cuts today as it struggles to cope with slumping demand for its commercial aircraft amid rising competition from European rival Airbus.

The payroll reductions, if confirmed by the Chicago company, would come on top of 35,000 job cuts already made at its commercial jet aircraft unit in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks on the US.

The new cuts could pare headcount at the commercial plane division to 53,900, 42% down on staff numbers less than two years ago. Overall, Boeing's payroll has shrunk by a fifth to 159,800 in the same period.

A company spokesman declined to comment on reports of the job cuts, saying staff would be told first of any new plans.

It is expected that cuts would be made across the board at the commercial jet division, affecting production-line staff, white-collar workers and support employees.

Boeing, led by chief executive Phil Condit, has had its once-clear ascendancy over Airbus progressively whittled away. This year, for the first time, the European consortium is expected to produce more commercial aircraft than Boeing, delivering 300 compared with 280 for its US rival.

Boeing retains an extensive defence-related business, but questions are piling up about its ability to remain a significant player in the commercial plane sector. A critical decision on whether to proceed with a new jetliner - the 7E7 Dreamliner - must be made within months.