Boeing has encountered numerous challenges in 2024, including production issues, legal disputes, and leadership changes. Key events include a safety investigation revealing deficiencies, a breach of a previous agreement related to fatal crashes, and substantial workforce cuts. Negotiations with labor unions led to strikes and rejected contracts, while the FAA initiated a comprehensive review of Boeing’s compliance processes. The company reported significant financial losses, reflecting the difficulties of ensuring quality and stability in a tumultuous environment.
Boeing’s Tumultuous Year: A Timeline of Events in 2024
The American aerospace giant Boeing has faced a series of significant challenges since the start of 2024, characterized by production quality issues that have led to legal disputes, management shake-ups, and heightened regulatory scrutiny amid ongoing negotiations with labor unions. Below is a recap of the pivotal moments of this tumultuous year.
Key Milestones in 2024
– **January 5**: An Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9, delivered just three months prior, experiences a hatch door loss during flight, resulting in minor injuries.
– **February 6**: The Transportation Safety Agency discloses that four essential bolts meant to secure the fuselage hatch were missing.
– **February 26**: An expert commission, which conducted an investigation from March 2023 to February 2024, identifies safety deficiencies and issues 53 recommendations for improvement.
– **February 28**: The FAA conducts an audit, revealing “non-compliance issues,” which leads to a freeze on the monthly production rate for the 737 MAX.
– **March 25**: Boeing announces the impending departure of CEO Dave Calhoun, along with the immediate removal of the head of the commercial aviation division and the chairman of the board.
– **May 14**: The Justice Department finds that Boeing has breached a 2021 agreement tied to two fatal 737 MAX 8 crashes, which resulted in 346 fatalities, and warns of potential federal criminal charges.
– **July 7**: Boeing and the Justice Department reach a preliminary agreement regarding a plea deal.
– **July 24**: The plea deal is submitted to a federal court in Fort Worth, Texas, pending validation from Judge Reed O’Connor.
– **July 31**: Kelly Ortberg is named as the new CEO, effective August 8.
– **August 21**: Certification testing for the new 777X twin-engine widebody aircraft is suspended due to a defective component, delaying its first deliveries, which were initially set for 2020.
– **September 8**: An agreement on a new social contract is reached, affecting over 33,000 unionized workers in the Seattle area.
– **September 13**: A strike is initiated after union members reject the proposed social agreement, halting production at several facilities including those for the 737, 777, and 767 models.
– **September 17-18**: The first round of negotiations with federal mediators takes place, followed by two additional rounds on September 27 and October 7, which yield no resolution.
– **September 18**: Boeing announces partial technical unemployment for thousands of employees as part of cash-saving measures.
– **September 23**: A new offer termed “better” and “final” is presented by Boeing but is rejected by union leadership.
– **October 8**: Standard & Poor’s indicates it may downgrade Boeing’s credit rating.
– **October 11**: Boeing reveals plans to cut about 10% of its global workforce and announces the cessation of the 767 freighter by 2027, along with a delay in the first 777X deliveries to 2026.
– **October 15**: The company details measures aimed at improving cash flow, including a capital raise of up to $25 billion.
– **October 18**: The FAA embarks on a comprehensive review of Boeing’s production compliance and risk management processes, expected to last three months.
– **October 19**: An agreement on a second draft of the social contract is reached between the union and management.
– **October 23**: Boeing reports its largest quarterly net loss in four years, totaling $6.17 billion, with 64% of union members rejecting the social agreement draft.
– **October 29**: Boeing increases its capital raise target to a minimum of $21 billion, up from an earlier estimate of nearly $19 billion.
– **October 31**: The third draft of the social agreement is introduced by both the union and Boeing.
– **November 4**: Union members are set to vote on whether to ratify the third draft of the social agreement.
Boeing’s journey through these turbulent times reflects the complexities of maintaining quality and compliance in the aerospace industry, alongside the challenges of labor relations and financial stability.