Spirit AeroSystems is considering furloughing or shedding a whole lot more employees if this happens Boeing The machinists' strike extends beyond November 25, an organization spokesman told CNBC on Thursday.
Boeing machinists, whose strike is about to enter its sixth week, voted 64% Wednesday against a newly proposed labor agreement that extends the work stoppage that has halted production of most Boeing planes within the Seattle area.
Spirit, which makes fuselage parts for Boeing's best-selling 737 Max in addition to other key parts, had already prepared to temporarily furlough about 700 staff at its plants in Wichita, Kansas. Those 21 days of furlough could begin next week.
Further cuts can be made along with these furloughs, but no decision has been made yet, Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino said.
Spirit's consideration of additional furlough days shows how the protracted strike is straining an already fragile aerospace supply chain. Boeing suppliers have largely been reluctant to chop staff, partly because that they had spent years reorganizing their workforces within the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Airbus can be under similar supply chain pressure.
More than 32,000 Boeing machinists within the Puget Sound area, Oregon and other locations walked off their jobs Sept. 13 after rejecting an earlier tentative agreement.
Boeing is within the strategy of acquiring Spirit, a deal the corporate expects to shut next 12 months. Spirit has been squandering money, reporting a third-quarter net lack of $477 million on Wednesday, greater than double the loss a 12 months earlier.
New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said reaching an agreement with Seattle-area machinists and ending the strike was a top priority, and the union said it was desperate to return to the bargaining table.
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