Boeing says a Dreamliner order is canceled

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CHICAGO, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- U.S plane maker Boeing said a customer, presumably Russian airline S7, canceled its order for 15 new 787 Dreamliner jets.

The company planned to identify the customer later Monday, the Financial Times reported.

Although long production delays have forced Boeing to give discounts on Dreamliner orders to customers, Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney said the cancellation was due to the economic environment, not the delays.

Boeing said a machinist strike and a charge of $685 million for delays in the development of the latest 747 jumbo jet resulted in a loss of $56 million in the fourth quarter. The company announced it was cutting 10,000 jobs to adjust to the slowing economy.

In 2007, Boeing made $1 billion in the fourth quarter.

Before the cancellation, there were 910 Dreamliners on order. McNerney said Boeing expected other cancellations as the economy slowed.