Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the company would reimburse employees sent on unpaid furlough during a seven-week strike for lost wages, according to Reuters.
These structural changes are important to our competitiveness and will help us deliver more value to our customers over the long term.
However, Boeing will also proceed with plans to cut about 10 per cent of its global workforce. It has regularly laid off thousands of salaried staff since a strike by 33,000 unionised machinists began in September and halted production of its best-selling 737 MAX. The aircraft maker later cancelled the unpaid leave, announcing plans to cut 17,000 jobs.
Your sacrifice made a difference and helped the company bridge to this moment. We want to acknowledge your support by returning your lost pay if you went on unpaid furlough.
A spokesman for the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace, which represents Boeing engineers, said earlier that 60-day notices of job cuts would be sent to its members on 15 November.
On Monday, Boeing secured ratification of a contract that provides machinists with a 38-per-cent wage increase over four years and a $12,000 bonus, ending the strike. Boeing has not yet said when it plans to resume production of the 737 MAX, but said it will happen gradually and under close regulatory scrutiny.
The aircraft maker has posted losses of nearly $8 billion this year as it continues to struggle with a quality crisis stemming from a panel explosion in mid-air in January. The company may end up selling off some assets as it reduces its workforce to focus on its core civil aircraft and core defence divisions.
