Boeing is facing a tricky Seattle factory strike crisis, and due to its already precarious finances, Boeing announced on Wednesday that it will arrange employee rotation and vacation during the strike to save cash.
Boeing stated that its executives, managers, and employees will begin their vacation in the coming days, affecting tens of thousands of people.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg further pointed out that Boeing plans to arrange for selected employees to take one week off every four weeks during the strike, and he and the leadership will correspondingly reduce their salaries during the strike.
Previously, Boeing had announced a hiring freeze and no longer offered salary increases. It had also reduced its travel budget and supplier expenses. At that time, Boeing had already revealed that it was considering a mandatory vacation plan for its employees.
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Last Friday, 33000 workers at the Boeing factory in Seattle voted to launch a strike. Subsequently, the International Association of Mechanical and Aerospace Workers, representing the workers, had no choice but to return to the negotiating table with Boeing.
Previously, Boeing had provided a new labor contract to the union, agreeing to increase workers' salaries by 25%. Boeing stated that it has provided the union with the maximum possible salary increase at this stage and hopes that this issue can be resolved peacefully. However, the workers were not convinced and insisted on getting better salary and benefits.
On Wednesday, the union held a new round of negotiations with Boeing, but later stated that the negotiations had come to an end without success. In a statement, it emphasized that both sides are still willing to further discuss, but there is currently no schedule for the next steps.
And this uncertain strike will cause great trouble for Boeing's production recovery. Ortberg, who has been in office for less than six weeks, said that the company has made difficult decisions that affect every employee, but this is also to protect Boeing's long-term future and to do its best to get through this difficult period.
In January of this year, a Boeing aircraft in transit suddenly had a hatch burst, triggering a quality crisis for Boeing. Since then, Boeing has been plagued by quality issues, and its cash situation has continued to deteriorate as a result. Boeing has accumulated up to $60 billion in debt.