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Union representing about 3,200 St. Louis-area workers rejected the company’s latest contract offer
Boeing leaders face another picket line after machinists in its St. Louis-area defense business rejected their latest contract offer.
The union division that represents about 3,200 workers in Missouri and Illinois on Sunday rejected the aerospace giant’s latest four-year contract proposal, threatening the company’s fragile turnaround effort. The workers went on strike at midnight.
The machinists had worked without a contract for the past week as company and union representatives haggled over work schedules and benefits, among other issues.
The new work stoppage doesn’t match last year’s massive Boeing strike in the Pacific Northwest, which pulled more than 33,000 employees off production lines responsible for its workhorse 737 MAX passenger jet. That nearly eight-week showdown caused havoc in the company’s profit powerhouse before workers won a 38% raise over the life of their four-year contract.
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The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter
U.K. antitrust officials said they wouldn’t open an in-depth probe into Boeing’s deal to acquire fuselage maker Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, effectively clearing the transaction weeks after they launched the first phase of an investigation.
The Competition and Markets Authority started looking at the deal in June to determine whether it could stifle competition in the U.K. Officials have now concluded that isn’t the case and said the transaction didn’t warrant a more in-depth probe.
Boeing agreed to acquire Spirit in July last year in a roughly $4.7 billion deal that included Boeing-related commercial operations as well as commercial, defense and aftermarket operations.
Spirit, which split from Boeing about two decades ago, has been at the center of quality issues affecting 737 MAX jets. Spirit’s factory in Wichita, Kan., made the fuselage involved in last year’s Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout.
Boeing executives have said they believe taking control of Spirit’s operations would improve the safety and quality of its manufacturing.
Clearance from the CMA brings the companies closer to finalizing the transaction. If U.K. antitrust officials had concluded the deal threatened competition, they could have blocked it altogether or imposed so-called remedies on Boeing, meaning the jet maker could have been forced to sell certain assets or make other concessions to earn antitrust approval.
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Ryanair, Boeing's biggest European customer, said it could delay deliveries of some 737 MAX aircraft as it holds out for a trade deal between the U.S. and the European Union.
The airline, Europe's biggest by passenger numbers, said it doesn't urgently need jets due to be delivered through October, leaving it room to defer the orders and wait for an EU-U.S. agreement. Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said he expects any deal to include a carve out for commercial aerospace.
While the EU has weighed imposing duties on U.S. goods, including Boeing jets, O'Leary said he thought long-lasting tariffs were unlikely. "To the extent that they're imposed, I think they will be short-lived," he said.
Ryanair has a fixed price contract with Boeing, meaning the plane maker would be on the hook for any duties, O'Leary said. Ryanair would try to help ease the burden, he said, including by taking delivery of aircraft through its tariff-exempt U.K. subsidiary.
O'Leary spoke to analysts after Ryanair reported quarterly net profit of 819 million euros, equivalent to $952 million, more than double a year earlier. Shares rose over 5% in Europe and the U.S.
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Korean Air’s Boeing order is its largest-ever order and Boeing’s largest wide-body order from an Asia-based carrier
Boeing plans to sell 103 airplanes to Korean Air 003490 -0.63%decrease; red down pointing triangle Lines for $36.2 billion.
The intent to purchase is part of a larger planned investment by Korean Air to spend $50 billion on U.S. planes, spare engines and maintenance services.
The South Korean Airline aims to contract 20 years of engine maintenance service from GE Aerospace for $13 billion. It will also buy 11 spare engines from GE Aerospace and eight from CFM International for a total of $690 million, it said Monday.
The agreements were formalized at a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Korean Air’s Boeing order is its largest-ever order and Boeing’s largest wide-body order from an Asia-based carrier, Boeing said. The order includes 50 737-10s, 25 787-10s, 20 777-9s and eight 777-8 freighters, and is scheduled for phased delivery through the end of 2030.
Korean Air currently operates 108 Boeing planes and has 72 of its jets on order. Its total book will be 175 Boeing planes once this deal is finalized, Boeing said.
Korean Air is buying the Boeing planes from a fuel-efficient family to support its growth, modernize its fleet and move ahead on integration following its merger with Asiana Airlines, Boeing said.
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