Boeing has increased its salary offer to Rs 10 lakh. Thousands of striking workers On Monday, as the strike continued, it offered a 30% general pay rise over four years, which it described as its “best and final” offer.
The aircraft maker has also offered to reinstate performance bonuses, improve retirement and double the ratification bonus to $6,000 if employees accept the offer by Friday.
It is unclear whether the new proposal will satisfy more than 32,000 Boeing workers in the Seattle area, who went on strike on Sept. 13 for the first time in 16 years after the aircraft maker completely rejected a previous offer.
A union spokesman for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents workers who build the plane maker’s best-selling 737 Max jet and other aircraft, was not immediately available for comment. Last week, IAM International President Brian Bryant said workers were prepared to fight “as hard as it takes to get the contract they deserve.”
Boeing has Recruitment on hold and it began Holidays Thousands of U.S. workers were laid off to reduce costs. A prolonged strike could lead to billions of dollars in losses, worsening the plane maker's already strained financial situation and threatening a downgrade in its credit rating.
The strike is Boeing's first since 2008 and the latest in a tumultuous year for the company that began in January when a door panel on a new 737 Max jet detached in mid-air.
A previous tentative agreement between Boeing and the union offered a 25% raise over four years and a commitment that any new planes launched during the four-year agreement would be manufactured in the Seattle area.
Boeing plans to give workers one week of vacation every four weeks during the strike period.
The widespread furloughs suggest that new CEO Kelly Ortberg is preparing the company for a long strike that may not be easily resolved given the anger among rank-and-file workers who want the 40% higher pay and performance bonuses reinstated.
Boeing shares rose more than 2% on Monday.
