OAN Staff Blake Wolf
10:49 AM – Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Boeing recently announced a third-quarter loss of $6 billion following some 33,000 employees going on strike, as well as quality control issues which have crippled the struggling aviation corporation.
“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,” stated Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg.
The strike began in September after 33,000 machinists unified to negotiate a better contract. This resulted in the shutdown of assembly facilities in Seattle.
The union was looking for an altered contract that included a 40% wage increase over four years, as well as the reinstatement of a pension plan.
Nevertheless, the strike could end as soon as Wednesday, as union members vote on a new contract which includes an at least 35% increase in pay over four years, a $7,000 ratification bonus, and improvements to retirement plans.
Boeing has steadily seen a massive blow to its reputation, stemming from multiple lapses in quality control. The latest incident occured during an Alaskan Airlines flight in January, when a door shockingly fell off the 737 plane mid-flight.
“We need to reset priorities and create a leaner, more focused organization,” Ortberg continued. “Boeing is an airplane company and at the right time in the future we need to develop a new airplane. But we have a lot of work to do before then.”
The company is unable to produce any new 737s until the multi-week strike ends, which Ortberg cited as one of his top goals. The announcement was one of Ortberg’s first public comments since taking the position in August.
Ortberg added that the company “will be focused on fundamentally changing the culture, stabilizing the business, and improving program execution, while setting the foundation for the future of Boeing.”
As Boeing attempts to internally revamp the company, it plans to lay off 10% of its staff, or around 17,000 employees. It cited how “the trust in our company has eroded,” Ortberg wrote. “We’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company which have disappointed many of our customers.”
“We’ve recently announced a workforce reduction which will focus on consolidation of areas where we’re not efficient, and we need to continue to focus on reducing nonessential activity,” Ortberg concluded.
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