'A death spiral of its own making': Boeing halts hiring, raises, and non-essential travel after thousands of workers walk off the job

Workers picket outside a Boeing Co. facility during a strike in Everett, Washington, US, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. Boeing Co. factory workers walked off the job for the first time in 16 years, halting manufacturing across the planemaker's Seattle hub after members of its largest union voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract offer and go on strike. Photographer: M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Credit: M. Scott Brauer—Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Things are in dire straits at The Boeing Company. Just ask the 33,000 unionized workers who walked off the job last week after rejecting the latest contract. Or, of course, read the barrage of reports of mind-boggling malfunctions grounding its planes, namely its disastrous 737 Max. Internally, leaders are scrambling to stanch the bleeding. 

On Monday, Boeing CFO Brian West sent a memo to employees detailing the plan for cost-cutting and survival. The memo, shared on Twitter/X by Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of trade publication The Air Current, details West’s attempts at cutting losses as Boeing grapples with the avalanche of recent losses.