On Wednesday, Boeing announced it would begin temporarily furloughing workers following a strike involving some 30,000 workers began Friday.
Say it ain’t so, Boeing!
The ongoing strike is the culmination of Boeing’s unresolved managerial and production issues that began with the 737 MAX crisis. Workers are striking over pay and deteriorating working conditions, issues that worsened after the pandemic and the fallout from the 737 MAX disasters. Boeing’s leadership has struggled to restore trust, not only with its workforce but also with customers and regulators, while continuing to grapple with supply chain disruptions and delays in key programs like the Starliner.
As production remains stalled, these problems feed into each other, further deepening Boeing’s financial troubles and slowing its recovery. The strike reflects deeper, long-standing challenges in Boeing’s management and operations that have been simmering since the 737 MAX crisis. If these issues aren’t resolved soon, Boeing’s ability to bounce back and compete could be in serious jeopardy, and that matters not just for the company but for the entire U.S. economy.
Boeing is a major player in the U.S. economy, employing tens of thousands of workers and contributing billions in exports through its commercial and defense divisions. If Boeing falters, it could have a ripple effect across the aerospace supply chain, impact thousands of jobs, and reduce U.S. competitiveness in global markets, especially as rivals like Airbus continue to gain ground. The stakes go beyond just Boeing—the company’s future is intertwined with the health of the American economy itself.
The problems with Boeing began long before the 737 Max. They began with McD buying Boeing and infecting it with their style of management over engineering. The 737 Max is just when the symptoms of the cancer became public.
KirkW is right Raf. The 737 fiasco was just the tip of the iceberg of Boeing’s problems like I said many months ago when the 737 story was unfolding. The company culture which has negatively impacted all involved began decades ago. There is no quick fix here if there is one at all. When you have a cancer you have to cut out a lot of good tissue along with the bad to maximize chance of survival. Boeing has a lot of cutting to do starting at the top and moving swiftly through the ranks right to the bottom. Again, like I have said before, I personally don’t believe Boeing has the fortitude to do what must be done.
Boeing is done. Period.
I wouldn’t write Boeing’s epitaph just yet. We all know that “too big to fail” is a canard, but their problems seem to be the symptoms of mis- (if not mal-) management. Whole divisions can be pared away help staunch the red ink, but I’m pretty sure that Boeing’s issues didn’t start with some guy on the production line failing to document a door plug removal. This isn’t an original story, but it will be interesting to see which divisions will keep the Boeing name going.
Maybe pare away all divisions - and license their name to Chinese aircraft?
“Boeing - the Bell+Howell of the skies”
Kirk and Tommy, you’re absolutely right—the issues at Boeing started long before the 737 MAX crisis, going all the way back to the McDonnell Douglas merger in 1997. That shift from focusing on engineering to chasing profits led to a drop in quality, safety, and employee morale. The 737 MAX disaster just made these deeper problems visible to the public.
The strike we’re seeing now is probably the result of years of frustration from workers dealing with these changes. Fixing Boeing will take more than just settling this strike.
It would not surprise me that “too big to fail” is part of Boeing’s stategy.
This article certainly presents corporate Boeing’s point of view. Too bad it didn’t give labor’s perspective or any context. Fortunately, the comments did.
When the engineers went out on strike in 2000, we were told that Boeing never settled labor disputes in less than 30 days. They wanted the employees to miss at least one paycheck so that the consequences of the strike were clear.
It would appear the current workers have learned from that. This time around the workers are saying they’ve been saving their money prior to the strike and getting side jobs so they can outlast Boeing.
Don’t be surprised if Boeing uses the bankruptcy card to eventually move all production out of Washington state. They have already moved their corporate headquarters. Several other industries have used that tactic to move away from pro-union states. For example, how many autos are actually built in Detroit? How about any tires made in Akron, Ohio. Most US auto plants are now in right-to-work states, along with tire manufacturing plants. All of the auto plants in the Cleveland Ohio area have been shut down with most buildings they were in torn down, after the GM and Chrysler bankruptcy filings and government bailouts. If the strike lasts long enough don’t be surprised that those workers never get their jobs back. Let’s not forget all the airline bankruptcies that upended all of the employee contracts in the past. Bankruptcy laws never favor the employee, only those who make the filing.
I think the IAM (Machinist’s Union at Boeing) were the ones who told us engineers about the 30-day delay, us being involved in our first strike. The IAM is very experienced in striking at Boeing, and being prepared to strike is in their DNA.
The adversary arrangement between Boeing and the Machinist’s Union is long-standing. This is a statue outside the union’s headquarters:
The statues are looking across the street directly at the closest Boeing building…
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