This Week's Adventures in Boeing > 33,000 workers on strike, 17,000 to be laid off, delivery of 777X delayed another year

 

Boeing to lay off 10% of workforce as

machinist strike cripples airplane production

US aviation giant Boeing plans to lay off about 10 percent of its workers in the coming months, about 17,000 people, as it projected a large third-quarter loss after a nearly month-long strike by 33,000 of its workers slowed production and caused executives to delay delivery of its 777X jet to 2026, adding to the company's litany of problems. 

By:NEWS WIRES

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Video by:Etienne PAPONAUD

Boeing announced that it plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce as it projected a large third-quarter loss amid a machinist strike in the Seattle region.

The aviation giant must "reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality," Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg said on Friday, adding that the cuts of 17,000 positions globally "will include executives, managers and employees."

The company announced a series of belt-tightening measures and production delays as the nearly monthlong strike of 33,000 workers has added to the company's litany of problems.

Boeing staff with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and Aerospace Workers walked off the job on September 13 after overwhelmingly rejecting a contract offer.

IAM officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

Boeing, which has also faced significant scrutiny over commercial aviation safety lapses and stumbles in its Starliner space program, said the IAM strike contributed to $3 billion in pre-tax charges to its commercial aviation results in the third quarter, part of an anticipated loss of $9.97 per share.

"While our business is facing near-term challenges, we are making important strategic decisions for our future and have a clear view on the work we must do to restore our company," Ortberg said in a press release.

"These decisive actions, along with key structural changes to our business, are necessary to remain competitive over the long term."

Details of the cuts would come next week, he said.

As a result of the strike, Boeing said it is pushing back first delivery of the 777X to 2026 from 2025. The much-delayed jet was originally supposed to enter service in January 2020.

The company plans to cease production of the 767 Freighter in 2027 once it completes production on current orders.

Ortberg also vowed to take "additional oversight" of Boeing's troubled defense and space businesses, which will experience "substantial new losses" in the third quarter, he said in the message to employees.

Criminal settlement questioned

Ortberg joined Boeing in August after a leadership shakeup initiated in the wake of a January incident on Alaska Airlines in which a window blew out mid-flight, necessitating an emergency landing on a 737 MAX, the aircraft involved in two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.

That led to the Federal Aviation Administration tightening oversight of Boeing's production processes, capping the company's output. Production on the MAX is now halted due to the IAM strike.

On Friday, a judge in Texas heard arguments on whether to approve a US Department of Justice criminal settlement on the MAX. Family members of MAX victims from the two crashes argued in court against the settlement, asserting that Boeing and former executives should be criminally prosecuted in a public trial.

The IAM strike, meanwhile, has halted activity at two Seattle-area assembly plants.

The striking workers are seeking hefty wage hikes and a reinstatement of their pension, complaining of more than a decade of near-flat wages amid inflation.

Ratings agency S&P estimated this week that the strike was costing Boeing $1 billion per month.scribe

On Tuesday, following two days of unsuccessful negotiations, Boeing suspended the talks, accusing the union of making unreasonable demands and withdrew its offer. Boeing's most recent offer included a 30 percent wage hike.

IAM's negotiating committee said late Friday that Boeing's withdrawal of its offer at the last talks "will only make it harder to reach an agreement."

"The fact they are complaining about our proposals shows their desperation and only proves to our members that we are fighting for them," IAM said in a statement on X, without mentioning Boeing's plan to slash 17,000 jobs.

Shares of Boeing fell about 1 percent in after-hours trading.

(AFP) 

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This Week's Adventures in Boeing > As if Boeing needs more trouble, a strike is looming

 

Boeing workers vote on whether to strike,

adding to planemaker’s woes

Boeing’s U.S. West Coast factory workers stood in long lines on Thursday to vote on a much-criticized new contract, some loudly calling for a strike, piling pressure on the planemaker as it wrestles with chronic production delays and mounting debt.

A potential strike could start on Friday, which would be a big early blow to new CEO Kelly Ortberg, brought on last month to restore faith in the planemaker after a door panel blew off a near-new 737 MAX jet in mid-air in January.

Roughly 30,000 workers who produce Boeing’s 737 MAX, 767 and 777 jets in the Seattle and Portland areas are voting on their first full contract in 16 years.

Polling will close at 6 p.m. PT and the result will be announced this evening, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) said. If a strike is sanctioned, it could start at midnight.

The proposed deal includes a general wage increase of 25%, a $3,000 signing bonus and a pledge to build Boeing’s next commercial jet in the Seattle area, provided the program is launched within the four years of the contract.

1:54

BIV: Boeing appoints new CEO

Although the IAM leadership recommended on Sunday that members accept the deal, some workers have responded angrily, with many calling for the originally demanded 40% pay rise and lamenting the loss of an annual bonus.

On Thursday, a line of workers waiting to vote snaked along the street outside the union’s offices in Renton, the Seattle suburb where Boeing makes its best-selling 737 jet. Some held signs and others chanted “strike”. All of several Boeing workers who spoke to Reuters said they were voting to strike, and were confident the bulk of union members would do the same, although more than 20 declined to say what they planned.

Under complicated union rules, two thirds must vote in favor of a strike for the action to begin. With anything less than that, the contract will go into effect.

“I’m ready to go on strike for as long as necessary to get everything that we deserve,” said Josh King, a 36-year-old quality inspector. “Normally, a strike doesn’t bring a worse offer, it always brings a better offer.”

In a sign some workers were already preparing for picket lines, one union member left the meeting on Wednesday carrying a placard under her arm that read: “On Strike Against Boeing.”

2:12

Boeing discloses new problem with popular 787 Dreamliner jets

Workers have been protesting all week in Boeing factories in the Seattle area that assemble Boeing’s MAX, 777 and 767 jets.

One member wearing a high-visibility vest shouted, “time to strike, baby!” as he exited the building after casting his vote.

Boeing shares closed up 0.9% on Thursday. They are down 36% this year on concerns over safety, production and a $60 billion debt burden. A strike would deepen the financial pain and add to delays in delivering planes to airlines already struggling with capacity shortages.

New CEO pleads for ratification

The duration of a potential strike isn’t clear. A long strike would weigh not only on Boeing’s financials, but on airlines which depend on the planemaker’s jets and suppliers who manufacture parts and components for its aircraft.

According to a note from TD Cowen, a 50-day strike could cost Boeing an estimated $3 billion to $3.5 billion of cash flow. The Boeing workers’ last strike in 2008 shuttered plants for 52 days and hit revenue by an estimated $100 million per day.

S&P Global Ratings said an extended strike could delay the planemaker’s recovery and hurt its overall rating. Both S&P and Moody’s rate Boeing one notch above junk status.

UBS analysts estimated in a note that a short-lived strike that does not disrupt plane deliveries would not impact Boeing’s cash usage. However, a one- to two-month strike resulting in a 50% cut to September to December deliveries would mean a $4 billion cash headwind for Boeing.

Michael O’Leary, CEO of Boeing customer Ryanair, said on Thursday that a strike could further delay aircraft deliveries, but added he believed that if it happened, it would be short. “We would like to see the labor agreement sorted.”

2:30

‘How can you sleep at night?’: Families, U.S. lawmakers confront Boeing CEO

A strike would present Boeing with multiple challenges: it will need to decide how to respond at the bargaining table, after saying it had offered everything it could. It also must find a way to secure factories full of extremely valuable, partially built planes, without union workers to do the job.

On Wednesday, Ortberg sent a letter to workers, urging them to approve the deal.

“A strike would put our shared recovery in jeopardy, further eroding trust with our customers and hurting our ability to determine our future together,” the letter said.

Ortberg and Boeing Commercial Airplanes boss Stephanie Pope hit the floor at the company’s jet assembly plants in Everett and Renton this week to talk with workers about the proposed deal, a source said. Boeing said the average worker pay of $75,608 would grow to $106,350 by the end of the contract, excluding overtime.

Boeing machine repair mechanic Harold Wilson said he had mixed emotions about the contract and wanted to see better pensions and higher wages for younger workers.

“I think Boeing will be left struggling again.”

Military Madness > Chemical Weapons Threat; $768 Billion Defense Budget; Israel Can Strike Iran w/o USA Approval

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Pentagon responds to Russian 'chemical weapon' warning

22 Dec, 2021 15:23

FILE PHOTO. The Pentagon building. © Getty Images / U.S. Air Force

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu’s claim that US private military companies (PMCs) are planning to stage a provocation in eastern Ukraine using chemical weapons is incorrect, the Pentagon has insisted.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, US Department of Defense press secretary John Kirby completely denied all suggestions of any American plans to stage an incident.

“Those statements by Minister Shoigu are completely false… they’re false,” Kirby said, in response to a question from a reporter.

Earlier on Tuesday, at a meeting of the Russian Defense Ministry board attended by President Vladimir Putin, Shoygu claimed that 120 employees of American PMCs have been placed in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“They are setting up firing positions in residential buildings and socially important facilities and are training Ukrainian special operations forces and radical armed groups for active combat operations,” Shoygu claimed. “To carry out provocations, tanks with unspecified chemical components have been delivered to the towns of Avdeevka and Krasnyi Lyman.”

Sounds like defensive positioning to me, pfft!

The minister provided no further details or evidence to back up the claim.

Tensions have been mounting in eastern Ukraine since last month when several Western media outlets reported that Russia had been massing troops near the border and claimed that Moscow was planning a large-scale military invasion of the country. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it has any plans to invade and has called for a diplomatic solution.

Also on Tuesday, during the same board meeting, Putin said that tensions in Europe were the fault of the US. According to the president, the deployment of American missiles, as well as large-scale exercises near the country’s borders, are causing concern for Moscow.

Biden signs $768bn military spending bill

The US administration devotes $300 million in security aid to Ukraine amid mounting tensions with Russia

FILE PHOTO: US Navy aircraft carriers during training in the Sea of Japan/the East Sea, June 1, 2017. ©  Reuters / MC 2nd Class Z.A. Landers / US Navy handout

US President Joe Biden has signed into law a $768 billion defense package. It represents an overall increase in military spending and includes $300 million to be set aside for security initiatives related to Moscow and Beijing.

Biden signed the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on Monday, marking a $25 billion increase on his original proposal and authorizing a 5% boost in US military spending from 2021. 

The vast spending package includes $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which, according to supporters in the Senate, will be used to train and equip Ukrainian forces to defend against alleged “Russian aggression.” Another $150 million was earmarked for “Baltic security cooperation” – another project aimed at deterring Moscow – while a larger sum of $4 billion will be spent on the European Defense Initiative, which is intended to bolster Washington’s NATO allies.

The aid package to Ukraine comes as Washington and several other Western nations accuse Russia of amassing forces along its border with Ukraine. At the weekend, US Vice President Kamala Harris threatened “sanctions like you’ve not seen before,” should Russia make a move against its neighbor. Though Moscow insists it has no interest in an invasion, it has warned against further NATO expansion into Eastern Europe, deeming the issue a matter of “life and death” for Russia. It also denounced Western involvement in Ukraine, where the US supported the 2014 ‘Euromaidan’ coup.

In line with the Biden administration’s growing military focus on China, the new NDAA also includes a $7.4 billion allocation to the Pacific Deterrence Initiative and a statement of support for the defense of Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its own territory. The bill also prohibited the US military from purchasing wares from China’s Xinjiang region, citing allegations of forced labor there. 

Though Biden’s slightly more modest spending proposal was rejected by lawmakers over concerns the US military could soon lag behind adversaries, as of last year, the United States continued to spend more on its armed forces than the next 11 largest militaries combined worldwide, including China’s and Russia’s, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

What madness! Imagine what good things could be done with all that money! Even if they just out-spent the next highest military budget (Russia? China?) there would still be close to a half trillion dollars available for useful, sane programs. How does the government justify spending 3/4 of a trillion dollars on the military?

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Israel doesn’t need US permission to strike Iran – FM

The Jewish state possesses capabilities the world can’t even imagine and will

use them against Tehran if necessary, the Israeli foreign minister has warned

An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter jet releases flares during an aerial demonstration. © Reuters / Baz Ratner

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has made it clear that his country can use force to curb Iran’s nuclear development without informing US President Joe Biden.

“Israel will do whatever it needs to do to protect its security. And we don’t need anybody’s permission for that. That’s been the case since the first day we established this state,” Lapid told Israel’s Channel 12 on the last day of 2021.

When asked if his country possesses the means to successfully carry out this type of attack, the foreign minister said that “Israel has capabilities, some of which the world, and even some experts in the field, cannot even imagine. And Israel will protect itself against the Iranian threat.”

Israeli officials and military figures have been mulling a strike on Iran since talks on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA) between Tehran and world powers began under the Biden administration.

Tehran has expressed skepticism over the warnings coming from Israel, calling them “empty threats,” though promising a harsh response to any aggression.

 

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Former President Donald Trump unliterary withdrew the US from the JCPOA in 2018, calling it the “worst deal ever.” The Jewish state fully shared his view, vigorously opposing the agreement which, it insisted, was not enough to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.

During his interview on Friday, Lapid said there has not been a “capitulation” to Tehran during the ongoing talks in Vienna. “Israel is not against a good deal, it is only against the wrong deal,” he added.

Odinga, Go Home and Shut Up, You Lost

Kenyan opposition leader calls for strike

after disputed election

By Andrew V. Pestano 

Supporters of Raila Odinga, leader of the National Super Alliance coalition, protest as the final votes

from Kenya's general election are counted in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday. Provisional results of 

the presidential poll shows the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta leading Odinga, who rejected the results. 

Photo by Kabir Dhanji/EPA

UPI -- Raila Odinga, Kenya's opposition leader, on Sunday called for a day of mourning and for his supporters to strike over the disputed results of a general election.

Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said President Uhuru Kenyatta won the election with 54.3 percent of the vote, while Odinga came in second place with 44.7 percent.

Following the announcement of results, Odinga accused the Kenyatta's Jubilee Party of electoral fraud. Protests have escalated into violence since the Tuesday election and more than a dozen people have died.

Odinga, the leader of the National Super Alliance opposition coalition, also accused the Jubilee Party of carrying out the killings

"As we mourn Kenyans killed by Jubilee mandated death squads, let's observe tomorrow as a day of mourning for the fallen patriots," Odinga wrote on Twitter. "For weeks before 8th August, NASA [National Super Alliance] warned the world of Jubilee killer squads set to be unleashed after the polls. This wasn't taken seriously."

Tensions are rising in Kenya as officials are hoping to avoid a repeat of ethnic violence that occurred following Kenya's 2007 election, when more than 1,200 people died.

During a speech to about 4,000 supporters, Odinga said his followers should strike on Monday.

"This is a failed regime that is resorting to killing people instead of addressing the real issue. The vote was stolen. There's no secret about that," Odinga said. "We had predicted they will steal the election and that's what happened. We are not done yet. We will not give up. Wait for the next course of action which I will announce the day after tomorrow. But for now I want to tell you not to go to work tomorrow Monday."

The international Elections Observation Group, which deployed 8,300 observers, said its projected outcome for the results had Kenyatta wining with 54 percent of the vote, 0.3 percent shy of the official figure.

That sounds like a pretty honest election to me. I think if Mr Odinga doesn't have the character to accept a loss, he doesn't have the character to lead the country. Go home and be quiet!