The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has withdrawn its improved offer in the collective bargaining dispute with employees and broken off negotiations. The union made demands that the company could not accept without losing competitiveness, criticized the head of the airliner business, Stephanie Pope. Further discussions are pointless at the moment.
Two weeks ago, Boeing offered its workforce an income increase of 30 percent spread over four years. However, the union wants more; it wants to achieve a 40 percent increase, also spread over four years. The negotiations also included improvements to employee pension schemes and the reintroduction of a performance bonus.
The IAM union, which has 33,000 members, went on strike in mid-September. Shortly before, employees had rejected Boeing’s first offer, which provided for a 25 percent increase over four years, with a majority of 96 percent in a strike vote.
The union’s justification for the comparatively high demands: In the past ten years, the Boeing workforce has accepted numerous zero rounds.
The work stoppage affects Boeing production around Seattle in the northwest of the USA. Short- and medium-haul aircraft are manufactured in the factories there 737-Max and the long-haul jet 777 built. After two devastating crashes in 2018 and 2019 and a near miss in January of this year, Boeing is in a serious crisis and is threatening to lose more and more market share to its European competitor Airbus. Serious problems in production, which Boeing is only gradually getting under control, have set Boeing back severely. Especially with the 737-Max Boeing is already behind on deliveries to many airlines.
Boeing responded to the strike in September with a hiring freeze. In addition, employees were furloughed and business trips were reduced to the bare minimum. The union last went on strike in 2008. At that time, the strike lasted 57 days and, according to analyst estimates, cost the company around two billion dollars.