Boeing will be under a spotlight Wednesday as the beleaguered aviation giant announces what is expected to be its biggest quarterly loss in four years, and striking employees vote on whether to end a costly weeks-long stoppage. The ugly financial results, which the company telegraphed earlier this month, will be announced by Boeing and newly installed CEO Kelly Ortberg before the stock market opens. Later Wednesday, some 33,000 hourly workers in the Seattle region will vote on whether to end the company's latest contract offer and end their nearly six-week strike.
On October 11, as part of an announcement of layoffs and other belt-tightening measures, Boeing signaled it expects a huge quarterly loss due to billions of dollars in one-time costs, including a large hit from the strike by the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and Aerospace Workers. Analysts estimate a loss of $6.1 billion, according to Factset, its biggest since the fourth quarter of 2020.
Even before the strike, Boeing had slowed production in its commercial plane division to ensure greater attention to safety protocols after a 737 MAX flown by Alaska Airlines was forced to make an emergency landing in January when a fuselage panel blew out mid-flight. The near-catastrophe -- coming after two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 that claimed 346 lives -- put Boeing under greater regulatory oversight. The strike has now halted work at two Seattle-area assembly plants that produce its 737 MAX and 777.
