Striking Boeing workers reject 35% pay
rise offer
Natalie
Sherman and João da Silva
Business reporters
Striking Boeing workers have rejected a new offer from the plane-making giant, which included a 35% pay rise over four years.
The International Association of Machinists and
Aerospace Workers (IAM) union said 64% of its members voted against the
proposed deal.
More than 30,000 of Boeing's employees have joined the
walkout, which started on 13 September, after an initial offer was rejected.
Hours earlier Boeing's boss Kelly Ortberg warned that
the company is at a "crossroads" as losses at the firm surged to
roughly $6bn (£4.6bn).
“After 10 years of sacrifices, we still have ground to
make up, and we're hopeful to do so by resuming negotiations promptly,"
union representatives said in a statement.
"This is workplace democracy – and also clear
evidence that there are consequences when a company mistreats its workers year after
year," it added.
Boeing has declined to comment on its latest offer being
rejected.
It is the second time that the striking workers have
rejected a proposed deal in a formal vote. The previous offer was turned down
last month by 95% of workers.
Earlier, Mr Ortberg, who took over as chief executive in
August, said he had been working "feverishly" to stabilise the firm,
as it worked to repair its reputation, which has been hit by manufacturing and
safety concerns.
"This is a big ship that will take some time to
turn, but when it does, it has the capacity to be great again," he said.
Boeing-made
satellite breaks up in space
How much trouble
is Boeing in?
What's the right
punishment for 'too big to fail' Boeing?
The latest crisis at Boeing erupted in January with a
dramatic mid-air blowout of a piece of one of its passenger planes.
Its space business also suffered a reputational hit
after its Starliner vessel was forced to return to Earth without carrying astronauts.
The strike has compounded the problems, leading to a
dramatic slowdown in production.
Mr Ortberg said the firm was "saddled with too much
debt" and had disappointed customers with lapses in performance across the
business.
Boeing's commercial aircraft business reported operating
losses of $4bn in the last three months, while its defence unit lost nearly
$2.4bn.
The strike "is costing them $100m a day so the cash
burn is really significant... This is getting to a pretty severe situation for
Boeing,” said Anna McDonald from Aubrey Capital Management.
Mr Ortberg argued the firm was in a strong position,
with a backlog of roughly 5,400 orders for its planes.
But he warned investors that restar7ting the firm's
factories, whenever the strike does end, will be tricky.
"It’s much harder to turn this on than it is to
turn it off. So it’s critical, absolutely critical, that we do this
right," he said.
"We have a detailed return-to-work plan in place
and I’m really looking forward to getting everybody back and getting to work on
that plan."
The company announced plans earlier this month to cut
roughly 10% of its workforce. Thousands of other staff are already on a rolling
furlough due to the strike, which has also hit suppliers.
Mr Ortberg told investors that his first priority was a
"fundamental culture change".
"We need to prevent the festering of issues and
work better together to identify, fix and understand root cause," he said.
Boeing's suppliers are also feeling the impact of the
strike.
Spirit AeroSystems, which makes plane bodies, has
already announced a 21-day furlough for 700 of its workers.
It has also warned it could have to lay off staff if the
Boeing strike continues beyond next month.
Ingen kommentarer:
Legg inn en kommentar
Merk: Bare medlemmer av denne bloggen kan legge inn en kommentar.