Boeing reports $6 billion quarterly loss as striking workers vote whether to accept contract offer

Source: Associated Press

Business
Boeing reports $6 billion quarterly loss as striking workers vote whether to accept contract offer

By DAVID KOENIG and MANUEL VALDES
Updated 1:13 PM EDT, October 23, 2024

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion before turning its attention to whether striking factory workers would accept a contract offer Wednesday and end a walkout that has crippled the company’s airplane production for nearly six weeks.

Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers were voting at union halls in the Seattle area and elsewhere on a contract that includes pay raises of 35% over four years. Their strike since mid-September has served as an early test for Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, who became chief executive in August.

In his first remarks to investors, Ortberg said Boeing needs “a fundamental culture change,” and he laid out his plan to turn the company around after years of heavy losses and damage to the aerospace giant’s reputation.

Ortberg repeated in a message to employees and on the earnings call that he wants to “reset” management’s relationship with labor “so we don’t become so disconnected in the future.” He said company leaders need to spend more time on factory floors to know what is going on and “prevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause.”

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/boeing-earnings-strike-vote-new-ceo-af6c6dab8747d5b8189df97a55e6b8d9