Boeing Permanently Moves Winnipeg Jobs

The Boeing Co. has permanently moved some work from Winnipeg, Manitoba, to the Seattle area, issuing layoff notices to 212 workers at the Canadian plant.

More work at the strike-idled plant may remain with outside vendors, Boeing said Friday.

Boeing spokesman Peter Conte said the moves have been prompted by the now 31-day-old strike by 870 workers at the Canadian facility, which comes amid ambitious plans by Boeing to boost production for all of its commercial aircraft lines.

The head of Canadian Auto Workers Local 2169 said the union is reviewing its options.

“We’re looking at all the angles,” said bargaining unit Chairman Chris Wallace. Conte said Boeing was forced to take drastic action to keep up with rapidly expanding production.

“Bottom line, our No. 1 concern was maintaining our commitments to our airline customers,” he said.