NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Boeing South Carolina announced they were laying off "a limited number" of employees from their North Charleston facility.
"This difficult decision comes after careful consideration and months of work to reduce cost by other means," officials said in a post on social media. "That effort helped mitigate the number of layoffs, and will continue to mitigate potential future impact."
They said they would help those affected find jobs elsewhere but did not say how many would be losing their jobs.
One of the employees affected tells ABC News 4 that less than 200 were told they would be losing their jobs but it might only be the first wave.
"And, I must be honest with you, there may be more to come," said Boeing South Carolina vice president and general manager Joan Robinson-Berry in the memo. "I assure you that we remain committed to finding additional work opportunities for BSC, seeking additional cost-cutting measures, and offering voluntary layoffs, while keeping you fully informed as decisions are made."
In a memo from Boeing management they told employees that several departments will be affected including Operations Management, Engineering, Quality, Industrial Engineering, Staff Analysts, Office Administration and Training
All employees affected by this layoff will be notified Friday.
Robinson-Berry said they tried to avoid layoffs by bringing more work to the facility, hiring internally, and offering voluntary layoff packages but they weren't able to avoid the involuntary layoff process.
Layoffs at other Boeing facilities have been going on since early last year but this is the first time the Charleston area plant has been affected.
This is a developing story and will be updated.