CHICAGO (dpa-AFX) - Boeing Co. (BA) is planning to lay off 'several hundreds' of employees at its satellite business amid a downturn in U.S. military spending and delays in orders for commercial satellites, according to media reports on Monday.
Boeing has reportedly said that it had started issuing notices for the layoffs at the satellite business, which is largely based in Southern California. The layoffs are expected to be done over the coming months and into early 2016.
Last week, Boeing confirmed it lost a large satellite contract from Asia Broadcast Satellite as the company was unable to secure financing.
The lay offs are also said to be partly due to the stalled reauthorization of the U.S Export-Import Bank that supports much of Boeing's sales. The Export-Import Bank was closed to new business from July 1 after Congress failed to reauthorize its charter, curtailing future financing commitments.
The Ex-Im Bank, the U.S. government's export credit agency, is designed to help facilitate exports of U.S. goods and services. However, it has been criticized by some conservatives as a form of corporate welfare for big companies.
The U.S. satellite manufacturing depends heavily on export financing, accounting for 60 percent of international satellite sales.
BA closed Monday's trading at $127.19, down $4.52 or 3.43 percent on a volume of 9.43 million shares. In after-hours, the stock further declined $0.01 or 0.01 percent to $127.18.
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