Around 17,000 employees could be affected. Boeing announced on Friday a reduction in the coming months of about 10% of its global workforce, as well as a series of measures that will affect its catalog of planes to try to overcome its financial difficulties.
In two separate messages, the planemaker also announced it would postpone deliveries of its new 777X wide-body jet, cease production of the 767 freighter in 2027, and warned that third-quarter results would be weighed down by heavy charges due , in particular, to the strike of over 33,000 workers since mid-September.
Factories stopped
The IAM (International Association of Machinists) union has declared a strike since September 13, which led to the closure of the group’s two main factories in the Seattle region, Boeing’s hometown. The strikers are mainly demanding wage increases and career advancement measures.
Boeing announced Tuesday that it will withdraw an offer to the union after a two-day third round of negotiations. The group proposed in particular to increase net salary and retirement pensions. “Unfortunately, the union did not take these proposals seriously,” complained Boeing’s head of commercial aviation, Stephanie Pope. According to her, the IAM has made “non-negotiable” demands that far exceed the limits of what is acceptable if we want to remain competitive.
“Therefore, continuing negotiations would not make sense at this stage and we have withdrawn our offer,” he concluded. However, Boeing says it is ready for new talks once the IAM is ready “to discuss an agreement that is respectful of our employees and preserves the future of our company.”
The manufacturer, which is having a tough time due to production quality issues, has taken steps to preserve its cash flow during the strike. In particular, it has resorted to technical unemployment, which affects tens of thousands of group employees.
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