Boeing reports $6 billion Q3 loss, second-worst quarter in company history

Boeing reported a loss of more than $6 billion in the third quarter, according to its Q3 earnings report, with $4 billion of the company’s losses coming from the commercial airplanes division.

Operating losses surged from approximately $800 million to $5.8 billion year-on-year in the last approximate three months, the aerospace manufacturer confirmed, as its margins fell from -4.5% to -32.3%.

“It will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,” said Kelly Ortberg, Boeing President and Chief Executive Officer. “Going forward, we will be focused on fundamentally changing the culture, stabilizing the business, and improving program execution, while setting the foundation for the future of Boeing.”

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Boeing has only delivered 291 jets through the first nine months of this year, significantly less than the 371 Boeing delivered during the same period last year.

The company also is expected to lay off 10% of its global workforce to help offset the losses.

Ortberg has revealed his plan to salvage Boeing and its reputation. In addition to the large-scale layoffs, his goal is to raise enough cash to avoid a bankruptcy filing by fixing Boeing’s culture around safety and boosting the production of the 737 Max — a fourth-generation commercial airplane.

But Boeing hasn’t been able to produce any new 737s as a crippling strike by 33,000 machinists has shut down assembly plants in the Seattle area for six weeks now. Boeing’s strike with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is costing the airplane manufacturer approximately $100 million-plus per day, according to analysts close to the situation.

More on Boeing’s finances: Boeing gets $10B credit line, plans to shed stock and cut 17,000 jobs as strike wears on

Those machinists on strike are voting on a new contract Wednesday. Boeing’s latest offer includes pay raises of 35% over four years, $7,000 ratification bonuses and the retention of performance bonuses that Boeing previously wanted to eliminate. The employees on strike have fought hard to have traditional pension plans return, something Boeing ended a decade ago. The company has held firm that pensions will not be returning.

“The trust in our company has eroded,” Ortberg said. “We’re saddled with too much debt. We’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers.”

Boeing hasn’t had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday’s numbers represent the second-worst quarter in Boeing’s history.

Contributing: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.