Boeing announces layoffs as worker strike passes one-month mark

Boeing will cut 10 percent of its total workforce over the coming months in response to losses caused in part by striking union workers, CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a Friday statement. Executives, managers, and employees all face the risk of layoffs because of substantial losses from the work stoppage, she continued. About 30,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union walked out about a month ago over a contract dispute.

Boeing informed 777X customers not to expect the planes to be delivered until 2026, Ortberg said. The company also planned to end commercial production of 767 cargo freight planes in 2027 after fulfilling the remaining customer orders. However, production for the KC-46A Tanker will continue, she clarified.

How has the union responded? Boeing’s plan to end the 767 program is very troubling, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said in a Friday statement. The project’s long-term future would in no way be logistically impacted by the current four-week strike, the statement said. Lobbying by union members actually won the government clearances necessary for long-term production of the 767 to continue in the first place, the statement added. The union’s District 751 president, Jon Holden, claimed Boeing aimed to divide union workers with seeds of doubt. Boeing’s attempt to bargain in the press won’t work and is detrimental to the negotiation process, he said. Boeing prolonged the strike by walking away from all three of the mediated talks, Holden claimed. WORLD reached out to Boeing for comment on the state of contract negotiations. As of late Monday afternoon, the company had not issued a response.

Boeing’s last offer before the strike began included a 25 percent raise over the four-year contract, a reduced share of healthcare costs, and up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Members would also get a $3,000 ratification bonus, a reduction to mandatory overtime, and an increase to Boeing’s payments into the union 401(k). 

However, union members continued holding out for the desired 40 percent raise over three years, with about 95 percent of the union’s District 751 employees and W24 Machinists voting down the contract. The last Boeing strike took place in 2008 and lasted for about eight weeks.

Dig deeper: Read my report for more about the start of the strike last month.