http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/131205_boeinglayoffs17.html

Boeing is going to lay off 5,000 more commercial aircraft workers on 2003-7-17.

The 5,000 job cuts are on top of the original plan to slash 25,000 to 30,000 workers. By June 2003, the company had cut 33,900 jobs since December 2001.

As many as 40,000 jobs could be cut from Boeing.

Over the past three years, Boeing's role in the economy has shrunk along with its Washington work force, which dropped from 79,900 in July 2001, to only 56,400 in July 2003. The current level is a far cry from the 102,000 Washington employees it retained in September 1997.

This proves many airlines are reducing the aircraft orders, and many of those still ordering the aircrafts switch from Boeing to Airbus, because of poor design of Boeing aircrafts, like the lack of commonality for Boeing products. For example, the cockpit of B767-400ER is totally different to 767-200/-300, thus pilots have to take 25 days of full type rate training on migrating from B767-200/-300 to -400, not to mention migration between different families. This makes many airlines operating B767-200/-300, like Qantas, EVA Air of Taiwan, refused to use B767-400 and switch to A330 instead.

Boeing also refused to introduce brand new designs for single-aisle aircrafts, but only make minor changes to B737, which is mainly based on B707 of 1950's design. This makes many airlines, notably easyJet, switches from B737 family to A320 family of much better design.

Not only this, Boeing refused to develop smaller quad jets like A340. This makes many airlines, especially those of Southern Hemisphere, refused to introduce B777 for serving extreme long distance routes, like polar routes, Southern Hemisphere transoceanic routes.