Boeing Reports $8 Billion Loss in First Nine Months of 2024

Boeing has reported an $8 billion loss for the first nine months of 2024, reflecting ongoing challenges in its operations and market conditions. This significant financial setback highlights the company's struggles to recover from past issues, including supply chain disruptions and quality control problems. As Boeing navigates these difficulties, it faces increasing pressure to implement effective strategies for recovery and regain investor confidence.

Boeing announced net losses of nearly $8 billion for the first nine months of 2024 in its latest Q3 earnings report released on Wednesday. In just the third quarter, the company recorded net losses of $6.2 billion, making it one of the worst quarters in Boeing's history.

These results come during a work stoppage affecting aircraft production at assembly plants in the Seattle area, which has severely impacted the commercial plane division. Recently, Boeing machinists rejected a newly proposed labor contract, prolonging a strike that has already lasted over five weeks. The company’s contract offer included a 35 percent wage increase over four years and enhanced 401(k) contributions, but this proposal fell short of the machinists’ union’s initial demand for a 40 percent raise and the reinstatement of a pension plan.

New CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced that Boeing is reviewing its operations and suggested the possibility of downsizing. Earlier in October, he disclosed plans to lay off 10 percent of the workforce, equating to about 17,000 employees, in the upcoming months.

As illustrated in the accompanying chart, 2024 marks the sixth consecutive year Boeing has reported annual net losses. This decline began after two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019, which resulted in the global grounding of the aircraft and a slowdown in production as the company worked to address various issues. From a net income of $10.5 billion in 2018, Boeing reported a loss of $636 million in 2019, marking its first annual loss in over two decades.

The COVID-19 pandemic further contributed to a downturn in the travel and aviation industry, leading to net losses of $11.94 billion for Boeing in 2020. The company faced a slow recovery up to 2023 but was again hindered by a series of safety issues, beginning with a mid-air blowout of a door plug in January that triggered an investigation and temporarily grounded 171 aircraft. Nevertheless, Boeing maintains a significant backlog of airplane orders, totaling 6,259 aircraft as of March 2024.

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