Boeing begins layoffs amid union strike, controversy over CEO’s home purchase: ‘Very difficult time’
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg moved to Seattle while the company’s 33,000 workers hit the picket line. (Credit: Derrick Louie for Clarity Northwest Photography & Laura Halliday for Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty and KCPQ)
Boeing is beginning a series of layoffs as its largest labor union strikes, according to a statement issued to workers Wednesday.
The strike involves more than 33,000 workers in the Seattle area and began Friday after the unions overwhelmingly rejected the permanent contract negotiations offered by the company.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over as CEO last month, sent an email to all employees about “temporary assignments” this morning.
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“…We are beginning a temporary layoff in the coming days that will affect a large number of US-based executives, managers and employees,” Ortberg wrote. “All benefits will continue for affected employees, and to minimize the impact on you, we are planning for selected employees to take one week of leave every four weeks continuously throughout the duration of the strike.”
Additionally, Ortberg vowed that he and his “leadership team” would take a pay cut during the strike, but did not specify how much.
A strike sign is pictured outside a Boeing factory on September 13, 2024 in Renton, Washington. The Boeing Machinists union voted overwhelmingly to reject the planemaker’s contract and strike. (Stephen Brashear/Getty Images)
The CEO established in writing that his plan to steer the troubled aerospace company through the strike is to avoid taking “any actions that hinder our ability to fully recover in the future.”
Ortberg also clarified that production of the Boeing 787 will continue throughout the strike, which he described as “prioritized.”
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Last week, Ortberg closed on a $4.1 million home in a gated community in Seattle to be near the Boeing factories.
The favorable hiring of their new CEO has been criticized by Boeing employees as proof that the company can pay their workers more.
Union members react as Aerospace Machinists District 751 President Jon Holden (left) announces that union members have rejected Boeing’s proposed contract and will go on strike, following the results of a vote at their union hall in Seattle, Washington. (Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We know they got the money. If they can pay the CEO, they can pay us,” Boeing employee Ethel Dominique told FOX 13 Seattle on Friday.
“You know, we’re not asking for much. And we’re happy that he can buy a nice new mansion, some of us can’t. Some of us get paid to pay,” added Dominique.
Workers protest outside the Boeing Co. facility. during a strike in Everett, Washington, US, Monday, September 16, 2024. Workers at the Boeing Co. factory. are out of a job for the first time in 16 years, halting production at the Seattle-based aircraft designer. huh (M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The main demand of the striking workers of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers’ Union (IAM) is a 40% wage increase.
CEO Kelly Ortberg ended her email to employees Wednesday on a sad note, writing that “this is a difficult decision that affects everyone” and calling the strike “a very difficult time” for Boeing.
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“We will continue to communicate clearly as this dynamic situation evolves and do everything we can to limit these difficulties,” concluded Ortberg.
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