In a memo to the employees on Monday, Jim Albaugh - Boeing's head of Integrated Defense Systems (IDS) - said that Boeing intends laying-off nearly 1,000 employees of IDS department. The employees of the hitherto-spared division face the ax largely because of funding cuts by the Pentagon.

Albaugh specified that the cuts - which would affect the employees of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program and the Army's Future Combat Systems program - were required "to keep ourselves competitive."

Albaugh said: "In recent weeks, customers have directed us to stop work or reduce the level of effort on some specific programs, requiring us to take immediate steps to reduce employment."

The latest round of job-cuts will be over and above the earlier announced job cuts at the aerospace giant. However, there has been no official intimation as to when the lay-offs will come into effect.

According to a Tuesday statement by Boeing spokesman Dan Beck, Boeing is yet to take a decision about its 7,000 IDS employees in the Puget Sound region - chiefly in Kent, Seattle and Renton.

Boeing's recent announcement of 1,000 job-cuts at its IDS department coincides with two other lay-off announcements - from US Airways and NASA. While US Airways intends slashing 600 jobs this fall, due to sluggish demand and a fall in revenue; NASA will lay-off 400 space shuttle employees in October.