Boeing officials announced plans to layoff up to 7,000 workers at its St Louis production facilities between now and mid-2001 after losing the F-15 fighter jet contract with Greece (see related story).

The layoffs represent about 35% of the workforce in St Louis, where the F-15 is produced. The layoffs are part of the plan to reduce 48,000 total jobs at Boeing by the end of this year, and Boeing had agreed to delay the St Louis layoffs until the Greek order was decided.

"Once we completed an assessment of our business environment based on the April 30 decision by the government of Greece, we decided to let our team and the community know as soon as possible what to expect for the foreseeable future," said Jerry Daniels, general manager and director of the St Louis site.

While Greece did not order the F-15, Israel remains a potential buyer of the fighter jet. Interestingly, Boeing didn't wait until after the Israel order to make the announcement to cut the F-15 workforce, which indicates Boeing may have actually needed both orders to avoid a line break.

Daniels said the company remains committed to St Louis and is taking steps to ensure competitiveness on other product lines, including the multi-year contract on C-17 and a proposed multi-year buy of the F/A-18E/F and on future programs such as the Joint Strike Fighter.

Work on the F/A-18E/F and major assemblies of the C-17 Globemaster III, the T-45 Goshawk, AV-8B Harrier II, Harpoon and SLAM ER missiles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) is still being performed in St Louis.

The US government is the biggest customer of programs produced at the St Louis site. Resizing the workforce and facilities to stay within budget is crucial to remain competitive and to win new sales, Daniels adds. Boeing will consolidate into fewer offices and production buildings in order to cut overhead costs.

Boeing says they have worked tirelessly over the past three years to secure additional sales of both the F-15 and the F/A-18C/D, and that the Greek order would have extended production for 18 to 24 months beyond current plans.

The last order for the F-15 will be completed by early 2000. F/A-18C/D deliveries continue to mid-2000. As previously mentioned, Israel is considering a purchase of new F-15s, with deliveries expected to begin in 2001, but potential orders for the F/A-18C/D have been delayed in several international competitions.