Boeing will lay off 10% of its employees as a strike by factory workers cripples airplane production

About 33,000 union machinists have been on strike since Sept. 14. (AFP)
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Updated 12 October 2024
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Boeing will lay off 10% of its employees as a strike by factory workers cripples airplane production

  • Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.

Boeing plans to lay off about 10% of its workers in the coming months as it continues to lose money and tries to deal with a strike that is crippling production of the company’s best-selling airline planes.
New CEO Kelly Ortberg told staff in a memo Friday that the job cuts, which could total about 17,000 positions, will include executives, managers and employees.
The company has about 170,000 employees worldwide, many of them working in manufacturing facilities in the states of Washington and South Carolina.
Boeing had already imposed rolling temporary furloughs, but Ortberg said those will be suspended because of the impending layoffs.
The company will delay the rollout of a new plane, the 777X, to 2026 instead of 2025. It will also stop building the cargo version of its 767 jet in 2027 after finishing current orders.
Boeing has lost more than $25 billion since the start of 2019.
About 33,000 union machinists have been on strike since Sept. 14. Two days of talks this week failed to produce a deal, and Boeing filed an unfair-labor-practices charge against the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.
As it announced layoffs, Boeing also gave a preliminary report on its third-quarter financial results — and the news is not good for the company.
Boeing said it burned through $1.3 billion in cash during the quarter and lost $9.97 per share. Industry analysts had been expecting the company to lose $1.61 per share in the quarter, according to a FactSet survey, but analysts were likely unaware of some large write-downs that Boeing announced Friday.
The company based in Arlington, Virginia, said it had $10.5 billion in cash and marketable securities on Sept. 30.
The strike has a direct bearing on cash burn because Boeing gets half or more of the price of planes when it delivers them to airline customers. The strike has shut down production of the 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling plane, and 777x and 767s. The company is still making 787s at a nonunion plant in South Carolina.
“Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” Ortberg told staff. He said the situation “requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”


Harry Styles announces 2026 global tour: See the dates

Updated 23 January 2026
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Harry Styles announces 2026 global tour: See the dates

  • e news arrives a week after Styles revealed his fourth studio album will arrive March 6. Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally”

NEW YORK: Harry Styles is getting back out on the road. The English musician announced his “Together, Together” tour on Thursday. It’s a 50-date run made up of residencies in Europe, the UK, Brazil, Mexico, the US and Australia.
Styles’ tour launches May 16 with six nights in Amsterdam, followed by six nights in London, two in São Paulo, two in Mexico City, 30 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, two in Melbourne and two in Sydney, where it will conclude in December.
Openers include Robyn, Shania Twain, Jorja Smith, Jamie xx, Fousheé, and more.
There are a few pre-sale opportunities. The general sale for São Paulo begins Wednesday and the Mexico City sale begins Jan. 29.
The general sale for Amsterdam, London, Melbourne, Sydney, and many New York dates begins Jan. 30. The last New York dates, Oct. 10 to 31, will go on sale Feb. 4.
Styles is no stranger to residencies. During his “Love on Tour” in 2022, he did a 15-night stint at Madison Square Garden, which Ticketmaster labeled “the highest-grossing single engagement in the venue’s history.”
The “Together, Together” tour news arrives a week after Styles revealed his long-awaited, fourth studio album will arrive March 6.
Titled “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally,” the album is Styles’ first full-length project in four years. It follows the 2022, critically acclaimed synth pop record “Harry’s House,” which earned the former One Direction star the top prize of album of the year at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
The cover for “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally” features the 31-year-old artist in a T-shirt and jeans at night, standing underneath a shimmering disco ball hung outside.