Boeing reported net losses of nearly $8 billion in the first nine months of 2024 on Wednesday, as it posted its latest Q3 earnings report. In its third quarter alone, the company saw net losses of $6.2 billion, marking one of the worst quarters for Boeing ever.
The results come amid a work stoppage of aircraft production at assembly plants in the Seattle area, which has particularly impacted the commercial plane division. In the latest turn of events, Boeing machinists rejected a new proposed labor contract, extending a strike which has already gone on for more than five weeks. Boeing’s contract offer included a 35 percent wage hike over four years and increased 401(k) contributions, among other changes. This falls short of the machinists’ union’s initial request for a 40 percent raise and for the company to reinstate a pension plan.
New CEO Kelly Ortberg has announced Boeing is reviewing its businesses and has hinted at the aircraft manufacturer slimming down. Earlier in October, he announced the company will be laying off 10 percent of its workforce, or around 17,000 employees, in the coming months.
As this chart shows, 2024 marks the sixth consecutive year in which Boeing has made annual net losses. The initial downturn came in the wake of two fatal 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019. That model was subsequently grounded worldwide and manufacturing of the plane slowed as the company attended to its various flaws. In a sharp decline from their $10.5 billion net income in 2018, Boeing’s annual earnings report shared that the company lost $636 million in 2019. This marked the first annual loss for the company in over two decades.
The coronavirus pandemic then led to a slump in the travel and aviation industry, with 2020 seeing Boeing post $11.94 billion in net losses. The company experienced a slow pace of recovery through to 2023, but has been setback once more following a series of safety issues, starting with the mid-air blowout of a door plug in January, which led to an investigation and temporarily grounded 171 aircraft. Despite this, the company still has a long backlog of airplane orders (6,259 aircraft as of March 2024).
