Business

Boeing Co. may lay off some workers next year as part of an effort to cut costs in response to difficult market conditions and a slowing global economy, a company executive said.

In an internal memo sent to employees Thursday, Rick Stephens, senior vice president of human resources, was quoted as saying the aerospace company expects its number of employees to decline in 2009 after several years of growth.

That decline could exceed Boeing's average annual attrition rate of 4 to 5 percent, though the Chicago-based company has not made a firm estimate. It would include a attrition, hiring freezes and layoffs, according to the memo.

The memo was released a day after Boeing announced plans to lay off 800 of its roughly 3,000 workers at a facility in Wichita, Kan., due to the delay of a U.S. Air Force tanker replacement program and the end of other projects.

"As evidenced by the announcement yesterday in Wichita, we do expect to see some employment decreases starting in early 2009," Stephens said.