The Boeing 737 Max is its most popular plane, but efforts to increase production have stalled. Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images

Boeing announced Monday that it will cut 5% of staff in its commercial division, which makes the 737 and other airplanes used by millions of travelers worldwide.

The layoffs stem from Boeing's inability to increase production as quickly as hoped, meaning it is "overstaffed," the division's CEO, Stephanie Pope, said in an internal memo obtained by Business Insider.

Boeing has been ramping up production of its most popular aircraft, the 737 Max, as it recovers from a quality and safety crisis sparked by the Alaska Airlines blowout in January 2024.

While it had hoped to produce 47 of the 737 Max a month this year, Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors on an earnings call in October that increasing production was taking longer than expected.

That sent the company's share price down 10.7%.…