Boeing reports $6 billion quarterly loss as striking workers vote whether to accept contract offer
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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 on a contract that would raise pay by 35% over four years. Before the doors opened at a hall near Boeing's factory in Renton, Washington, workers joined a snaking line outside, where there were a few scattered calls for the offer's rejection.
“It’s going to be a split vote,” predicted Brian Hatcher, who has worked at Boeing for 15 years and said he voted “no" largely because the proposal did not restore pensions that were eliminated a decade ago.
The strike, which started Sept. 13, 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.”
Ortberg expressed hope that the 33,000 striking machinists in the Pacific Northwest would vote to approve the company’s latest contract offer. Their union district was expected to announce the results Wednesday night.
Ortberg, a Boeing outsider who previously ran Rockwell Collins, a maker of avionics and flight controls for airline and military planes, said Boeing is at a crossroads.
“The trust in our company has eroded. We’re saddled with too much debt. We’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers,” he said.
But Ortberg also highlighted the company’s strengths, including a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars.
“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” he said.
Ortberg previously announced large-scale layoffs — about 17,000 people — and a plan to raise enough cash to avoid a bankruptcy filing.