On October 24, 2024, Boeing workers gathered on a picket line near the entrance of the Boeing factory during an ongoing strike in Seattle, Washington.
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boeing companyThe more than seven-week machinists’ strike will affect Friday’s U.S. jobs report – which is due ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election and next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. Meanwhile, the company’s upcoming layoffs will take several months to become apparent.
When the Labor Department conducted its survey in mid-October, about 44,000 U.S. workers were on strike. About 33,000 of those Boeing mechanics went on strike on Sept. 13 after voting overwhelmingly against a union-sanctioned labor contract and supporting the first strike since 2008.
Economists expect the United States to add 100,000 jobs in October. Bank of America predicted this week that payrolls would be at least 50,000 lower than they otherwise would have been due to the impact of Hurricanes Helen and Milton.
In an Oct. 14 speech, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said these factors could impact the October report by 100,000 jobs, calling the layoffs “significant.” But temporary job losses.” They “may have a small impact on the unemployment rate, but I’m not sure it will be that significant,” he said.
Boeing’s machinists’ strike complicates an already difficult situation for the plane maker as its new chief executive, Kelly Ortberg, tries to steer the giant U.S. manufacturer and exporter away from safety, quality and… financial crisis. Unionized machinists, mostly from the Seattle area, voted 64 percent last week against a new proposal that would have included a 35 percent pay increase, up from a 25 percent raise in a previous tentative deal.
A Boeing 737 Max fuselage can be seen on a streetcar in an aerial view as workers at the Boeing factory in Seattle go on strike on October 24, 2024.
David Ryder | Getty Images
The Biden administration has stepped in to urge both sides to reach a deal.
“With the continued assistance of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, your union bargaining committee held a productive face-to-face meeting with the company to resolve the issue,” International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District 751 said late Tuesday. Key Negotiation Issues.
Su has met with both parties before the final proposal comes to a vote on October 23.
Boeing’s impact on U.S. employment will continue. Chief Executive Ortberg said earlier this month that the company would cut 10% of its global workforce, or 17,000 jobs, although unemployment warning letters are not expected to be issued until mid-November.
Ortberg, who took over as CEO in early August, said Boeing needs to become leaner and focus on its core business.
“One of the things I’m hearing from a lot of employees is there’s just too much overhead. It’s slowing down the speed at which they can get their work done,” he said on the quarterly conference call on Oct. 23. “So we’re going to really lay off people. The focus is on simplifying these daily activities and integrating what can be integrated.”
Bank of America economist Stephen Junod noted that considering layoffs and their announcements in federal employment surveys is more complicated than a strike because “we don’t quite know when the layoffs will occur.”
The fallout from the Boeing strike could lead to further cuts in the fragile aerospace supply chain.
boeing airframe manufacturer spirit aviation systems inc. Earlier this week, about 700 workers in Wichita, Kansas, were furloughed for 21 days. Spirit, which is acquiring the company, is considering hundreds of additional furloughs or layoffs if the strike at Boeing continues past Nov. 25, a spokesperson told CNBC last week.
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