Boeing workers down tools in pay dispute

More than 30,000 factory workers at the US plane manufacturer have downed tools, halting production of Boeing’s 737 Max.

A total of 96% of members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) voted in favour of striking, with nearly 95% rejecting the offer.

Jon Holden, IAM District 751 president, said: "Our members spoke loud and clear.

"This is about respect, this is about addressing the past, and this is about fighting for our future."

Boeing pledged to resume negotiations.

"The message was clear that the tentative agreement we reached with IAM leadership was not acceptable to the members," it said. "We remain committed to resetting our relationship with our employees and the union, and we are ready to get back to the table to reach a new agreement."

The industrial action is the latest in a series of blows for Boeing, which has long struggled to come back from fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. In January, a cabin panel on a 737 Max jet blew off mid-air during a commercial flight, ramping up regulatory and legal scrutiny.

In July, it posted a larger-than-expected second-quarter net loss of $1.44bn.

Ahead of the vote, recently-installed chief executive Kelly Ortberg called on workers to back the deal, saying strike action would put the company’s "recovery in jeopardy".

The IAM had also recommended the offer to members. But members remained unhappy, including with senior management pay levels. Previous chief executive Dave Calhoun was paid nearly $33m in 2023.

The rejected offer included a 25% pay rise over four years and a commitment from Boeing to build its next commercial plane in the Seattle region.

The union had been targeting a 40% pay rise, however, as well as a number of other improvements to worker benefits.