Boeing addresses another labour strike amid attempt to resuscitate reputation

A strike by thousands of workers who build fighter jets for Boeing at three US plants is the second labour disruption for the plane builder in less than a year.

The strike that began just after midnight on Monday, involving more than 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, arrives as Boeing is attempting to resuscitate its reputation.

Boeing, once a beacon of US manufacturing and the gold standard in the global aircraft industry, has been rocked by fatal crashes including the Air India crash in June which killed 260 people, investigations and changes in leadership.

Following is a quick rundown of events that have buffeted the Arlington, Virginia, company.

January 2013: 787s worldwide are grounded nearly three weeks after lithium-ion batteries that are part of the planes led to a fire in one plane and smoke in a second.

August 2015: The first 737 Max plane rolls off the production line, and within a year, it is undergoing flight tests.

October 2018: Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunges into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta on 29 October, killing all 189 people on board. Questions are raised over a new Boeing flight-control system called MCAS that Boeing did not disclose to pilots and airlines. Indonesian investigators say the pilots struggled for control as the automated system pushed the nose of the plane down more than two dozen times.

March 2019: Wall Street remains enamoured with Boeing as commercial aircraft orders rocket. Shares of Boeing Co. close at an all-time high of USD 430.35 on 1 March.

March 2019: Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashes after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 10 March, killing 157 passengers and crew members. Shares of Boeing began a long, downward slide and have yet to recover.

March 2019: Within days of the second crash, the US Federal Aviation Administration and regulators in nations around the world orders the grounding of all 737 Max jets.

December 2019: Boeing ousts CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who was seen as pressuring the FAA to lift the Max grounding order, on 23 December.

January 2021: US Justice Department charges Boeing with fraud on 7 January, but won't prosecute the company for misleading regulators about the 737 Max if it pays a USD 2.5 billion settlement.

January 2024: A panel covering an unused emergency exit blows off a 737 Max 9 during an Alaska Airlines flight on 5 January. Pilots land the plane safely.

February 2024: A panel of outside experts, convened after the two deadly crashes, reports on 26 February that Boeing's safety culture falls short despite the company's efforts to fix it.

March 2024: A LATAM Airlines Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner flight between Australia and New Zealand suddenly plunges, injuring 50 people, on 11 March. Boeing tells airlines to inspect switches on pilots' seats after a published report said an accidental cockpit seat movement likely caused the rapid loss of altitude.

March 2024: Dave Calhoun, who replaced Muilenburg, says on 25 March he will step down as CEO by year-end as part of a broader shakeup of Boeing leadership.

July 2024: On 7 July, Boeing agrees to plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the US government for misleading regulators who approved pilot-training standards for the Max.

July 2024: Boeing names Kelly Ortberg as its new chief executive on 31 July. Ortberg is a trained engineer and was CEO of aerospace supplier Rockwell Collins for eight years. Many see his appointment as an attempt by Boeing to get back to its roots.

September 2024: About 33,000 Boeing factory workers walk off the job on 13 September in a strike that will cripple production at one of the preeminent manufacturers in the US for almost two months. It is the first labour action taken against the company in 16 years.

May 2025: On 23 May, the Justice Department reaches a deal with Boeing that takes criminal prosecution off the table for allegedly misleading regulators about the 737 Max jetliner before the two fatal plane crashes. Boeing agreed to pay or invest more than USD 1.1 billion, including an additional USD 445 million for crash victims' families, removing the risk of a criminal conviction that would have jeopardised the company's status as a federal contractor.

June 2025: An Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashes to the ground mere seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad en route to London's Gatwick airport. All but one of its 243 passengers are killed in the resultant fireball, as are 18 people on the ground. The probe into the disaster is currently on.

With AP inputs