Boeing boss Kelly Ortberg has warned the company is at a crossroads after the aerospace giant's losses reached around $6bn (£4.6bn).
Mr. Ortbeg, who took over as chief executive in August, said he was working “feverishly” to stabilize the company, which is struggling to repair a reputation that has been damaged by manufacturing and delivery problems. security.
The aircraft manufacturer is also facing a strike by more than 30,000 of its employees in the United States, which has lasted for more than a month and has interrupted the production of several aircraft.
Its disappointing results come as workers are scheduled to vote Wednesday on the company's latest pay and benefits proposal.
In prepared remarks, Mr. Ortberg said he was “hopeful” that the plan, which includes a 35 percent pay increase over four years, would be approved, while noting that other significant hurdles remain. to relaunch the business.
“It’s a big ship that will take a while to turn around, but when it does, it will have the capacity to become big again,” he added.
Mr Ortberg said the company was “saddled with too much debt” and had disappointed customers with poor performance across the business.
The latest crisis at Boeing erupted in January when a piece of one of its jetliners dramatically exploded in mid-air.
Its space business also suffered a setback after its Starliner spacecraft was forced to return to Earth without carrying astronauts.
The strike worsened the problems, leading to a dramatic slowdown in production.
Boeing's commercial aircraft business posted operating losses of $4 billion over the past three months, while its defense division lost nearly $2.4 billion.
Mr. Ortberg argued that the company was in a strong position, with a backlog of about 5,400 orders for its planes.
But he warned investors that restarting the company's factories, once the strike ends, would be tricky.
“It's much harder to turn this system on than it is to turn it off. So it's essential, absolutely essential, that we get it right,” he said.
“We have a detailed return to work plan in place and I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone come back and get to work on that plan.”
The company announced plans earlier this month to cut about 10% of its workforce. Thousands of other employees are already out of work due to the strike, which has also affected suppliers.
Mr. Ortberg told investors his first priority was “fundamental cultural change.”
“We must prevent problems from getting worse and work better together to identify, resolve and understand the root causes,” he said.
