A strike by members of the SPEEA union would slow 737 production and stop 777-9 certification work, the company’s leader warns.
Boeing’s chief executive has detailed the fallout should members of its technicians’ union go on strike next month, saying such an action would shut down 777-9 certification work and depress 737 production.
Speaking on 16 September, CEO Kelly Ortberg also cited wing-production bottlenecks as holding back 737 output, saying the company will not make its next 737 rate hike until next year.
“We’re working very hard to try to avoid any kind of a work stoppage. That’s our key… priority, because that impact would be significant,” Ortberg says during a Morgan Stanley investor conference.
He was referencing the risk of a strike by the 17,000 workers represented by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA). The union represents 13,000 engineers and scientists, and 4,000 technicians, analysts and planners.
Boeing and SPEEA are now negotiating a new four-year contract. If no deal is reached, workers could strike starting 7 October, the day after their current contract expires.
If a strike happens, the 777X “certification programme shuts down until we get the engineers back”, Ortberg says. “And it will have a ripple effect into our production.”
“We probably will not be able to sustain the [737] rates … in a strike, but we want to try to keep the production line hot,” Ortberg adds, noting the company has developed a strike-contingency plan centred on maintaining some degree of 737 production.
His comments highlight the stakes surrounding Boeing’s negotiations with SPEEA.
The union’s negotiating team on 11 September said it approved of Boeing’s latest offer, meaning employees will now decide the deal’s fate in a vote. Those employees already voted down a prior contract proposal.
737 wing bottlenecks
Ortberg on 16 September also addressed Boeing’s progress ramping 737 production.
“The area where we are constrained right now is in our wings production,” he says. “We have not seen the flow improvements that we expected.”
Ortberg adds that Boeing has “plans in place” to address the issues.
The company manufactures 737 wings at the Renton site where it also assembles the jets. This year, it opened a second 737 Max production line in Everett. That site also receives wings from Renton.
Boeing has for several years been struggling to overcome issues that have constrained wing production.
It has meanwhile succeeded in ramping output.
Ortberg in May said Boeing had started running its 737 production lines at a rate of 47 jets monthly.
But he clarified on 16 September that Boeing is still “driving” toward that rate, acknowledging that getting there “has taken a little bit longer than what I had anticipated”.
Ortberg expects the company will make its next 737 rate break, to 52 jets monthly, next year.
“To go to 52 we need to see stability in our wing shop”, he adds.
Boeing plans eventually to hike 737 output 57 and then 63 jets monthly.
The post Boeing CEO warns of fallout from possible engineers’ strike first appeared on FlightGlobal.