Washington  - Boeing Co, the world's second-largest maker of commercial aircraft, said Friday it will cut 4,500 jobs in its commercial unit in 2009 following a drop in demand for new planes amid the widening recession.

Most of the job losses will be in Boeing's manufacturing hub in the US state of Washington, beginning February, bringing to 63,500 the number of staff in the commercial unit, the company said in a statement.

"We are taking prudent actions to make sure Boeing remains well positioned in today's difficult economic environment," Scott Carson, the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said.

Boeing said Thursday that it had orders for 662 planes in 2008, down from 1,413 a year earlier. dpa