Boeing to Make Fewer 757s, 767s in ’93 : Aerospace: The company attributes the cutbacks to the troubled financial condition of many of the world’s airlines.

SEATTLE — Boeing Co. said Tuesday that it plans to lower production rates next year on its 757 and 767 model jetliners, which could result in the loss of as many as 2,500 jobs.

The world’s largest commercial airplane maker said the reductions were in response to weaker demand from airlines.

“Our customers’ delivery needs are changing as a result of the difficult time many of them are currently having,” said Dean Thornton, president of Boeing’s commercial airplane group. “We are adjusting our rates to meet their needs.”

Boeing said the monthly production rate on the 757 will be cut to seven in June and to five in November, 1993, from 8.5 now. Boeing previously had said it planned to cut monthly 757 production to seven planes in September, 1993.

Monthly production on the 767 will be cut to four aircraft from five beginning in November, 1993.

Continuing losses among major airlines worldwide have led several carriers to delay orders or stretch out deliveries.

A Boeing spokesman said the latest cuts do not reflect any order cancellations.

The company said the slowdown could result in about 2,000 fewer jobs in Washington state’s Puget Sound area and about 500 fewer jobs at the company’s Wichita, Kan., facility.

Boeing had about 84,000 employees worldwide in its commercial aircraft operations as of Nov. 12.

Boeing stock dipped 50 cents to $34.50 in heavy New York Stock Exchange trading, and one industry analyst cut his 1993 earnings estimate for the company by 3%.

Boeing spokesman Steve Smith would not rule out further changes. “We continue to have discussions with our customers,” he said.

Boeing has projected that the average value of annual jetliner deliveries will increase to $45 billion by 2010 from an average $18 billion a year over the last 20 years.

But some Wall Street analysts say Boeing’s earnings will peak this year and that annual overall delivery rates could be down to slightly more than 200 by mid-decade, from an expected 442 this year.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Bill Whitlow said he expects Boeing’s revenue from commercial aircraft to peak at $24 billion this year and to drop to $20.3 billion in 1994 because of the cutbacks.