C-17 Globemaster III (Courtesy Creative Commons)

The layoffs will eliminate the second shift and affect 900 workers according to a Boeing press release.  The company says it will assist workers looking to move to other positions within the company.

Employees were warned of a possible workforce reduction in February 2010 when the company announced a new production rate of the C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.  The Long Beach plant is the final assembly point for the C-17, an aircraft whose demand has decreased over the last few years. 

The C-17 program manager said the job cuts were a difficult, but necessary decision. 

“[R]educing the number of C-17s we deliver every year -- and doing that with a smaller work force -- will allow us to keep the production line open beyond 2012, protect jobs, and give potential customers more time to finalize their airlift requirements,” Bob Ciesla said.

Boeing is not the only aerospace company to reduce their Southern California workforce.  McDonnell Douglas, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. have all eliminated jobs in the last decade according to the LA Times.  In 2010 Northrop Grumman Corp. announced plans to move its headquarters from Los Angeles to Northern Virginia.

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