Boeing Furloughs tens of thousands of employees amid labour strike

Boeing

Boeing is a US multinational company. They design, manufacture and sell aerospace, rotorcraft, satellites, rockets, and missiles all around the world. In 2022, based on the revenue Boeing became the fourth largest defence contractor in the world. 

Boeing Furloughs and Boeing Strike

A contract has been proposed to the Boeing Machinists who represented the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The contract included a 25% increase in wage but this has been rejected by the 96% of Boeing machinists. This led to the decision of Boeing to furlough the large number of U.S. based executives and employees Boeing strike. Over 30,000 Boeing machinists and employees involved in the Boeing strike who are primarily from Oregon and Seattle. They felt dissatisfied with the deal which did not restore the pensions and offered adequate compensation. Union members of Boeing had been demanding the raise of wages to 40% for over four years. They argue that the cost of living in Seattle increased which made them feel insufficient with Boeing’s compensations.

The Boeing strike by the machinists started on September 13, 2024 which led to great impacts and disruptions to Boeing’s production. The major production of 737 MAX, 777, and 767 models of Boeing was furloughed temporarily to reduce operational costs. The result of Boeing’s furlough are,

• Employees requested to take one week off, every four weeks during strike.
• Salary has been deducted for executives in the U.S.
• Stopped hiring
• Paused non-essential contracts. 

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The Statement of Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg as follow,

“We are initiating temporary furloughs over the coming days that will impact a large number of US-based executives, managers, and employees. Along with these I and my leadership team will take a commensurate pay reduction for the duration of the strike. While we remain open to further discussions, whether directly or through mediation, currently, there are no additional dates scheduled”

On the Other hand the Union said,

“We are fully committed to fighting for the contract our members deserve. We will not mince words–after a full day of mediation, we are frustrated. The company was not prepared and was unwilling to address the issues you’ve made clear are essential for ending this strike: wages and pension. The company doesn’t seem to be taking mediation seriously”