Acting US labour secretary Julie Su intervenes in Boeing strike

Julie Su, the United States’ acting labour secretary, flew to Seattle on Monday to try to ease a Boeing machinists strike, as thousands of employees face lay-offs and a major airline reacted with alarm to the plane maker’s deepening turmoil.

Su’s first in-person intervention, reported by Reuters and confirmed by the Labour Department, comes days after Boeing – dealing with a crippling strike now in its fifth week – unveiled plans to cut 17,000 jobs and take US$5 billion in charges, continuing a year of tumult for the company.

“Acting Secretary Su is meeting with both parties today to assess the situation and encourage both parties to move forward in the bargaining process,” a spokesperson said.

While Su has previously spoken to Boeing and the union but it is her first time in Seattle meeting both sides in person, the spokesperson said. Roughly 33,000 workers have been on strike since September 13, seeking a 40 per cent wage increase and the restoration of a defined-benefit pension they agreed to give up in 2014.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers was not immediately available for comment. Boeing and a White House spokesperson declined to comment.

Shares of the aerospace giant fell 1.3 per cent to close at US$148.99 on Monday, following the company’s surprise after-hours announcement on Friday, which also included a new delay to the 777X aircraft and the ending of civil 767 freighter production.

Boeing will hold meetings this week to lay out detailed plans, having given few specifics in Friday’s announcement, industry sources said. The company also expects a quarterly cash burn of about US$1.3 billion, better than anticipated, but still the third consecutive quarter it has burned through cash.

Boeing will next month send out 60-day notices to thousands of workers in its commercial aviation division, meaning those staff will leave the company in mid-January, one source familiar with the matter said.