A lawsuit that accused Boeing of sex

discrimination won't go to trial as scheduled on Monday after the

two sides reached a financial settlement.

In a joint statement

Fridy, the two sides said they had made "considerable

progress" in resolving the case, which was scheduled for trial in

federal court in Seattle.

Still, the two sides stopped short of

saying that a full settlement had been reached, saying only that

they had agreed on how much money should be involved. The amount

was not disclosed. In the lawsuit filed in February of 2000,

28-thousand current and former female workers in the Puget Sound

region accused Boeing of discrimination.

The plaintiffs argued that

Boeing had saved hundreds of millions of dollars since the

mid-1990s by paying women less than men. Boeing, which is based in

Chicago but has extensive operations in the Seattle area, has

denied the allegations. Similar lawsuits have been filed in several

other states.