Boeing Freezes Hiring, Weighs Furloughs To Cut Costs Amid Strike

(RTTNews) - Aerospace giant Boeing Co. is planning various cost-cutting measures, including hiring freeze, cut in supplier spending and possible temporary furloughs, to meet the ongoing strike by machinists, reports said citing a company memo.

Bloomberg reported that Boeing's difficult financial position puts its credit rating at risk of dropping below investment grade.

The company's about 33,000 machinists union members last Friday had started a strike after majority of them voted to reject a proposed four-year contract by the aerospace and defence major. The first strike at the firm since 2008 hit the commercial airplane production of the aircraft manufacturer, which is already struggling with its various plane safety issues.

In a memo to employees, Chief Financial Officer Brian West said the company is halting hiring at all levels, and is considering temporary layoffs for many employees to save cash during the strike. As per the reports, workers were informed of the necessary and immediate actions to support the company's recovery.

The various planned steps also include a halt of non-essential travel, a pause in any pay increase associated with promotions, cutting back outlays for air shows and charitable donations, as well as significant reductions in supplier expenditures.

Boeing will also stop issuing a majority of its supplier purchase orders for the 737, 767 and 777 jetliner programs affected by the walkout.

West said, "Our business is in a difficult period. This strike jeopardizes our recovery in a significant way and we must take necessary actions to preserve cash and safeguard our shared future."

On Friday, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers or IAM, who build commercial planes, started their strike in airplane assembly at Boeing's factories in the Seattle area as well as in Portland, Oregon and in southern California.

Boeing, after months of negotiations, had reached a tentative agreement on September 8 with IAM Districts 751 & W24, and the union also recommended acceptance of the deal, because they couldn't guarantee of achieving more in a strike.

But, soon after, the union members started complaining that the proposal was not good enough, and rejected the deal recommended by union leaders, and voted to go on strike.

In an update on the union's rejection of the contract, Boeing had stated that it remains committed to resetting its relationship with employees and the union and that it was ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement.

The latest strike by the union members is a major hit to the plane maker, which has been under severe scrutiny for the past few years amid safety concerns.

The latest issues started with a January 5 incident, when a mid-cabin door plug on Alaska Airlines' Boeing 737-9 MAX airplane blew out in the middle of the flight, following which FAA grounded around 171 737 MAX 9 airplanes for inspections for several weeks.

In April, the FAA announced an investigation into the emergency landing by Southwest Airlines' Boeing 737-800 flight after its engine cover fell off and struck the wing flap during take-off.

Further, in mid August, the company paused flight tests for its new 777X jetliner and grounded the four-aircraft test fleet after finding damage in a plane's structure.