Boeing will lay off more engineers to remain competitive

Company officials told employees Monday that hundreds of engineering jobs will be cut in June. People losing jobs will be notified by Friday, April 21.

Aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia says he's not shocked by the news. He says right now Boeing is focused on producing jets, not engineering new ones. But he says the company will need these engineers again.

Aboulafia: "In an ideal world they'd keep these engineers and use them on the next generation mid-size jet that'll probably start development around 2020, but this company tends to think of things in quarters and maybe a year or two rather than three or four year blocks."

In the meantime, hundreds of people in Washington state and elsewhere will lose their jobs. The company did not specify how many positions.

This comes after hundreds of Boeing engineers already accepted buyouts in January and again in March. John Hamilton, vice president of engineering for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, says more cuts in engineering could come later this year.

Officials said the cuts are necessary for the company to stay competitive in the aerospace market.