Aviation major Boeing, which reported a loss of $56 million for the fourth quarter in 2008, has taken decision for job cuts to reduce operational expenses. Nearly 10,000 Boeing employees would soon suffer due to job cuts by the company. The company blamed most of its fourth-quarter loss on the 57-day machinists' strike that brought plane deliveries to a halt.

CEO W. James McNerney Jr remarked that "challenging economic times," doubled the number of jobs he plans to cut this year.

The job cuts would be spread all across Boeing's global operations. Most of the job cuts would be in places other than the company's Seattle-area commercial-plane facilities. The company aims at trimming the workforce by nearly 6%. The move had become imperative to maintain the company's financial strength, McNerney maintained.

The recent global economic meltdown has led to a sharp decline in air traffic. This has affected the company profits leading to the tough decision by the company management. The layoffs will not have an impact on the engineers and assembly-line staff on the job. The cuts in the commercial plane unit are expected to fall largely on support and administrative staff.