Boeing is expected to give workers buyout and early retirement options, two people familiar with knowledge of the issue disclosed on Wednesday, a move to reduce the coronavirus pandemic's financial effects.

The aircraft maker launched a voluntary separation program that allows qualified workers who choose to leave the company to do so with a pay and benefits package, said one of the sources.

The company's chief executive officer Dave Calhoun is expected to outline a voluntary termination program as early as Thursday, sources said, in a memo to employees.

Boeing was still weighed down by the continuing grounding of its 737 MAX aircraft, a huge headache for the company as it enterered March. Based on data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, a sharp fall in travel caused by the coronavirus crisis gave investors even more to think about for the month, bringing the company's shares down 45.8 percent.

The health crisis is forcing investors to reconsider long-term estimates of Boeing's revenues. Airlines have responded by cutting flights and grounding aircraft causing a huge drop in travel demand, and even if demand recovers when the pandemic is controlled, the U.S. economy could be in recession by then, analysts said. 

Some of the planes that large airlines are grounding today are unlikely to ever fly again, and if demand does not return quickly, it is unlikely that the carriers will need all the Boeing jets they have on demand.

Meanwhile, Reuters claimed last month, citing industry sources, that the 'real risk' of layoffs or furloughs as delayed aircraft deliveries and down payments due to a virus-related decline in air travel forced Boeing to take drastic measures to mitigate cash outflow.

Boeing, which considers itself the largest exporter of America, has some 150,000 workers worldwide, with about 50 percent of this workforce clustered around flagship factories in Seattle's Puget Sound area.

The buyout offer comes three weeks after the U.S. aircraft manufacturer announced it would suspend the recruiting and overtime pay and to retain cash in some sensitive areas.

Boeing's airline customers and some of its manufacturers have already sought to slash labor costs - including layoffs and voluntary unpaid leave - as the pandemic wreaks havoc in the aerospace industries.

Nearly 65,000 of Boeing's workers build commercial aircraft, and an additional 25,000 work in the unit that provides airlines with spare parts and services.

Executives said they were seeking to stop layoffs because they were hoping for support from investors to alleviate their financial pressure and prepare a recovery.