Boeing faced a challenging year in 2024, losing nearly $1 billion every month. The company struggled with a series of setbacks that stemmed from its defense business, quality control failures, and a debilitating strike. A significant incident in January involved a door panel falling off a brand new 737 Max shortly after take-off, underscoring serious quality control issues at Boeing and its main supplier, Spirit Aerosystems. This incident forced Boeing to curb production as regulators demanded changes on the factory floor.
In response to these challenges, Boeing implemented a comprehensive safety and quality control plan. Despite these efforts, the company's financial performance suffered significantly. In the three months leading up to December, Boeing reported losses of $3.8 billion. The aerospace unit alone faced more than $5 billion in losses due to rising costs on fixed-price military contracts.
"We made progress on key areas to stabilize our operations during the quarter and continued to strengthen important aspects of our safety and quality plan." – Mr Ortberg
The situation was exacerbated by a seven-week strike that began in September. The strike reflected deep-seated resentment among employees over pay and retirement provisions. Ultimately, the dispute was settled in early November but at a steep cost, adding further financial strain on the company.
Comparatively, Airbus delivered 766 aircraft in 2024, while Boeing managed only 348 deliveries. The stark contrast highlights Boeing's struggles in maintaining its competitive edge in the aerospace industry. In an attempt to address these challenges, Boeing announced plans to lay off 10% of its workforce and began raising more than $20 billion through a combination of share sales and borrowing.
"My team and I are focused on making the fundamental changes needed to fully recover our company's performance and restore trust with our customers, employees, suppliers, investors, regulators and all others who are counting on us." – Mr Ortberg