Boeing reveals voluntary layoff plan for employees amid coronavirus crisis

Boeing on April 2 unveiled a voluntary layoff plan for its employees citing the crisis the aviation industry is expected to face due to coronavirus outbreak. The company is already suffering from losses after it had to withdraw its 737 MAX airliner from the market following two fatal crashes, said that it is doing everything to protect the future of its business. Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun wrote a letter to the company's employees where he outlined the voluntary layoff (VLO) plan. 

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The letter from Calhoun read, "But one thing is already clear: It will take time for the aerospace industry to recover from the crisis. When the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different. We will need to balance the supply and demand accordingly as the industry goes through the recovery process for years to come."

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"It's important we start adjusting to our new reality now. We want to address it through natural turnover and voluntary employment actions to the extent we responsibly can. To that end, we are initiating a voluntary layoff (VLO) plan that allows eligible employees who want to exit the company to do so with a pay and benefits package. This move aims to reduce the need for other workforce actions," the letter further stated. 

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Media reports suggest that the global airline industry is on the verge of collapse because of the lockdown imposed in various countries. In the United States, airline companies had asked the administration for a stimulus package of about $50 billion in order to save the highly affected industry. 

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Coronavirus outbreak

COVID-19 has claimed more than 49,000 lives across the world and has infected over 9,62,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last week before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The United States and France are on the verge of overtaking China in terms of the number of deaths recorded in these countries. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

(Image Credit: AP)