Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg has unveiled a four-point strategy to turn around the troubled US plane maker's fortunes after its losses nearly quadrupled to more than $6 billion in the third quarter, and as it awaits the crucial vote of its disgruntled union workers.
Mr Ortberg, in a bid to “turn this big ship in the right direction”, said that the Virginia-based company would need to implement a “fundamental culture change”, stabilise its business, improve its execution discipline and “build a new future”.
In a statement on Wednesday, he also acknowledged that Boeing “was once a benchmark for what good culture looks like” and said he believed "we can return to that legacy”.
“I know culture change starts at the top. Our leaders, from me on down, need to be closely integrated with our business and the people who are doing the design and production of our products,” he said.
In the three months to the end of September, Boeing posted a net loss of more than $6.17 billion, a 277 per cent year-on-year spike compared to the $1.64 billion loss in the corresponding period last year. Revenue dropped about 1.5 per cent annually to $17.84 billion.
Through the first nine months of 2024, Boeing has lost nearly $8 billion, against $2.2 billion in the same period last year, while revenue has declined 8 per cent to $51.28 billion. The company has a total backlog of $511 billion, including more than 5,400 commercial aircraft, it said.
Boeing’s stock was trading 2.63 per cent down at $155.67 a share at 8.30pm UAE time (12.30pm New York time) giving the company a market capitalisation of $95.94 billion. The stock is down 38.17 per cent since the start of the year.
“Clearly, we are at a crossroads: the trust in our company has eroded, we’re saddled with too much debt and we’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company which have disappointed many of our customers,” Mr Ortberg said. “So, my mission here is pretty straightforward … restore Boeing to the leadership position that we all know and want.”
Boeing has endured a turbulent year, embroiled in a safety and quality crisis after a door panel blew out mid-air on a 737 Max jet in January, which prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to revamp its oversight process.
Earlier this month, Boeing said it will slash 17,000 jobs, or about 10 per cent of its global workforce, and delay the first delivery of its 777X jet by one year, pushing back its largest wide-body aircraft by about six years.
The delay prompted Tim Clark, president of Dubai's Emirates airline, to say last week that the airline will have a “serious conversation” with Boeing in the next two months.
The third-quarter results also came before a much-anticipated vote by Boeing's union workers, also on Wednesday, who will decide whether to accept a new contract offer or carry on with their strike that has hit the company's finances and operations. However, the strike, which has lasted for six weeks, has not affected the production of 787 aircraft.
Mr Ortberg was named chief executive of Boeing in early August, and said he had, in his first week at the helm, met leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to “let them know that I was committed to resetting the relationship”.
“We have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs … and I remain committed to getting the team back and improving our relationship, so we don’t become so disconnected in the future,” he said.
Mr Ortberg was optimistic that Boeing's offer package will bring employees back to work, “so we can immediately focus on restoring the company” and restart its factories and supply chain.
Some of aviation's biggest players remain confident in Boeing. This week, Emirates ordered five 777F freighters that will boost capacity to meet “strong” demand.
Last month, a senior Riyadh Air executive said Boeing's continuing troubles were not affecting its chances in the race against its European rival Airbus for a narrow-body aircraft order from the Saudi Arabian start-up carrier.
Specs
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Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
The five pillars of Islam
MORE ON IRAN'S PROXY WARS
'Top Gun: Maverick'
Rating: 4/5
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Miles Teller, Glen Powell, Ed Harris
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
'Saand Ki Aankh'
Produced by: Reliance Entertainment with Chalk and Cheese Films
Director: Tushar Hiranandani
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Prakash Jha, Vineet Singh
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
The biog
Born: Kuwait in 1986
Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
Hobbies: audiobooks and fitness: she works out every day, enjoying kickboxing and basketball
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Education reform in Abu Dhabi
The emirate’s public education system has been in a constant state of change since the New School Model was launched in 2010 by the Abu Dhabi Education Council. The NSM, which is also known as the Abu Dhabi School Model, transformed the public school curriculum by introducing bilingual education starting with students from grades one to five. Under this new curriculum, the children spend half the day learning in Arabic and half in English – being taught maths, science and English language by mostly Western educated, native English speakers. The NSM curriculum also moved away from rote learning and required teachers to develop a “child-centered learning environment” that promoted critical thinking and independent learning. The NSM expanded by one grade each year and by the 2017-2018 academic year, it will have reached the high school level. Major reforms to the high school curriculum were announced in 2015. The two-stream curriculum, which allowed pupils to elect to follow a science or humanities course of study, was eliminated. In its place was a singular curriculum in which stem -- science, technology, engineering and maths – accounted for at least 50 per cent of all subjects. In 2016, Adec announced additional changes, including the introduction of two levels of maths and physics – advanced or general – to pupils in Grade 10, and a new core subject, career guidance, for grades 10 to 12; and a digital technology and innovation course for Grade 9. Next year, the focus will be on launching a new moral education subject to teach pupils from grades 1 to 9 character and morality, civic studies, cultural studies and the individual and the community.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
DOB: March 13, 1987
Place of birth: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia but lived in Virginia in the US and raised in Lebanon
School: ACS in Lebanon
University: BSA in Graphic Design at the American University of Beirut
MSA in Design Entrepreneurship at the School of Visual Arts in New York City
Nationality: Lebanese
Status: Single
Favourite thing to do: I really enjoy cycling, I was a participant in Cycling for Gaza for the second time this year
England XI for second Test
Rory Burns, Keaton Jennings, Ben Stokes, Joe Root (c), Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Ben Foakes (wk), Sam Curran, Adil Rashid, Jack Leach, James Anderson
Sweet%20Tooth
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