Bill Dugovich, a spokesman for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, or SPEEA, told GeekWire that his union has asked Boeing for further information about the layoffs. The Post and Courier in Charleston, S.C., quoted a Boeing spokeswoman as saying "there have been no involuntary layoff notices issued at Boeing South Carolina," Boeing executives have said the job reductions are necessary to keep the company competitive with Airbus amid a challenging market for commercial airplane sales. In a statement issued today, the company said the latest layoffs are consistent with its previously announced cost-cutting strategy : "We continue to follow the plan outlined to Boeing Commercial Airplanes employees in December 2016.