Boeing Co. said it plans to cut 10,000 jobs, or about 6 percent of its workforce, after a strike, program delays and a global recession contributed to a fourth- quarter loss.

The job reductions, disclosed on a conference call today, include 4,500 that were previously announced in the commercial- plane half of Boeing’s business. Earlier the Chicago-based company reported a net loss of $56 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with profit of $1.03 billion, or $1.36, a year earlier.

Boeing faces a potential increase in canceled or deferred orders this year as airlines cope with a drop in travel demand and tight credit. It also must carry development costs on the delayed 787 Dreamliner, which is now due to reach the first customer in early 2010, about two years later than planned.

Boeing delivered 50 aircraft in the quarter, 70 fewer than planned, hurting revenue by $4.3 billion and setting it further behind rival Airbus SAS, the only larger commercial-plane maker. Full production resumed in December, after workers replaced thousands of bad parts found during the eight-week machinists strike that ended Nov. 2. The walkout stripped $1.8 billion from full-year earnings.

(Bloomberg.com)