Seventeen thousand jobs lost, more than 6 billion dollars (5.5 billion euros) in losses in the third quarter, postponement of 777X deliveries until early 2026: this is the bomb dropped on Friday, the 11th October afternoon, Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s new CEO, as the company is stuck in a never-ending strike and threatened with a downgrade by financial rating companies.
“Our business is going through difficult times and there are many challenges we face together. Relaunching our business requires making difficult decisions and we will have to make structural changes”, Mr. Ortberg writes to his employees, announcing clear cuts to the workforce. “We need to rethink our workforce to fit our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities. In the coming months, we plan to reduce the total size of our workforce by approximately 10%.”continues Mr. Ortberg.
The group employs around 170,000 people worldwide. The company also announced a provision of 5 billion dollars, which refers to both civil aviation (3 billion) and defense (2 billion). Net loss per share reached $9.97, representing a loss of approximately $6.1 billion for the quarter.
The CEO announced new deadlines on the 777X program, with first deliveries not taking place before early 2026. The aircraft is not yet certified and is delayed by about ten years. The company will stop producing its 767 freighters in 2027.
Order collapse
These announcements come in the context of a workers’ strike in the historic cradle of Seattle. The movement began on September 13 when employees rejected an agreement negotiated by their union with management. The work stoppage caused the paralysis of the production line of the 737 MAX, 767 and 777 aircraft. Since then, thousands of employees have been left on technical strike while the aeronautical manufacturer’s subcontractors, suppliers and service providers struggle to survive the collapse of the sector. your orders.
Boeing toughened its tone on Tuesday, October 8, withdrawing an offer of a 30% pay increase over four years. “Continuing negotiations would not make sense at this time”Boeing civil aircraft director Stephanie Pope said in a memo to employees, vindicating the demands of the union, which represents 33,000 employees on the West Coast, “non-negotiable”. On Thursday, management attacked the union before the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal agency that manages labor disputes, saying the union “negotiated in bad faith.”
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