Boeing Co. will start sending out pink slips on Wednesday to employees affected by a planned round of job cuts, a delicate balancing act between improving efficiency and keeping together a skilled workforce to help lift output again.

Boeing announced that it will lay off 10% of its workforce in the coming months and cut its production in the wake of a labor union strike.

The approximately 17,000 employees included in the cuts were notified this week and are expected to leave the company in mid-January, Boeing said. The cuts, which come after a labor union strike, equate to 10% of its workforce.

Boeing sending out the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) in mid-November was widely expected