Boeing posts big loss as striking machinists vote on contract: NPR

Boeing reported a staggering $6 billion third-quarter loss on Wednesday as its striking machinists voted on whether to accept a new contract offer. That strike, now in its sixth week, has crippled production at Boeing factories in the Pacific Northwest.

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WASHINGTON – Boeing reported a staggering $6 billion third-quarter loss Wednesday as its striking machinists voted on whether to accept a new contract offer.

That strike, now in its sixth week, has crippled production at Boeing factories in the Pacific Northwest. But Boeing's problems go deeper. Even before the strike, the company was struggling with production and quality control problems that limited production of its best-selling 737 line. The company also reported large losses in its defense and space business.

New CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced plans to lay off about 10% of her workforce.

“We must reset priorities and create a leaner, more focused organization,” Ortberg said in prepared remarks released by the company on Wednesday. “Boeing is an aircraft company and at the right time in the future we need to develop a new aircraft. But until then we still have a lot of work to do.”

They were Ortberg's first public comments since taking over as CEO in August.

Ortberg takes the reins at a pivotal moment for Boeing. The head of Emirates, a major Boeing customer, said this month that the plane maker was facing a credit downgrade and “bankruptcy is imminent.”

Boeing quickly announced that it plans to raise billions of dollars to replenish its cash flow – including up to $25 billion through the sale of shares and other securities and another $10 billion through a new credit line.

A Boeing 737 MAX 10 jet sits on the tarmac before its first flight at Renton Municipal Airport on June 18, 2021 in Renton, Washington.

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Other observers say Boeing's problems aren't all that bad. At least not yet.

“I don’t think bankruptcy is inevitable,” said Kevin Michaels, managing director of AeroDynamic Advisory, an industry consulting firm. “It's a possibility. The probability is higher today than it was six months or a year ago. But I don’t think it’s inevitable.”

Michaels worked closely with Boeing's CEO in the 1990s when both worked at Rockwell Collins. And Michaels believes Ortberg's strategy of downsizing the company is fundamentally correct.

“Boeing is a bloated mess,” Michaels said. “They are very top-heavy. And that slows down their decision-making.”

In the long term, Michaels believes Boeing can still turn things around, especially if it can sell assets that aren't performing well.

For now, the focus is on Boeing's latest proposal to its striking machinists. The union's 33,000 members overwhelmingly rejected the company's first contract offer more than five weeks ago.

Now there is a better offer on the table. And this time the vote could be much closer.

“Our members have been able to make a big difference to Boeing,” said Jon Holden, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751.

The machinists' union credits acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su with helping restart stalled negotiations.

Boeing is now offering a 35% wage increase – a significant increase from the original offer of 25%, but still below the union's desired 40% increase. The company would also increase its contributions to employees' 401k retirement funds.

But there is one important union demand that Boeing has not budged on: the pension plan.

“When we lost our pensions, I cried,” said Kat Kinckiner, a union representative at the Renton, Washington, plant where Boeing assembles the 737. “That was my future.” And to see something just taken like that was just devastating.”

At the rally in Seattle last week, Kinckiner and other union members made it clear they want to reinstate the pension plan they lost a decade ago.

Boeing is weathering a stormy financial outlook after reporting disappointing third-quarter results. The company says it is focused on becoming leaner and focusing attention on developing a new aircraft.

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“I remember at the time we all said: We won’t accept the next contract,” she said. “That won't happen again. Not for us. Not like that.”

Jon Holden, president of IAM 751, says he understands why some of his members are still angry and why some are still fighting to get the pension plan back.

“These wounds don’t heal easily,” he said. “But now, ten years later, it’s not easy to get something like that back.”

Union leadership is making no recommendation on how members should vote on this offer. That's a notable difference from the previous vote in September, when the union recommended approval – only to be sharply criticized by some members.

“We believe it is our responsibility to put this before members so they can make that decision,” Holden said. “I hope they think about it, but it’s up to them.”