2024-09-09 01:42:30
The aviation company Boeing has reached an agreement with a union on a wage increase. Employees can now expect a substantial increase.
The loss-making aircraft manufacturer Boeing has promised a large union with more than 32,000 employees a 25 percent pay increase just days before an impending strike. The Airbus competitor announced this on Sunday. The IAM union had originally demanded a 40 percent increase.
The wage increase and other improvements such as 12 weeks of parental leave will apply for four years. Boeing also promised to produce a new model in the union-organized factories in the Seattle area. This was a key demand of the union. The current collective agreement expires on Thursday. Union members will then be called upon to vote on the offer.
Boeing has been battling a reputation crisis since early this year, when part of the cabin wall of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX-9 with 171 passengers on board came loose mid-flight. Since then, the US aviation authority FAA has tightened Boeing’s requirements even further. Boeing is now only allowed to build 38 of the 737 MAX aircraft per month. It is unclear how long this restriction will apply.
The company is deep in the red, with losses increasing tenfold to around 1.4 billion dollars. Aside from the commercial aircraft business, the defense business is also in trouble. The division lost billions in the past two years because it had signed fixed-price contracts and was unable to pass on increases in energy and raw materials costs to customers. The company recently announced that it would change course.