Amid a strike of thousands of employees in Seattle, Boeing will start temporary furloughs in the St. Louis region.
In all, Boeing employs about 17,000 people in the region at locations near St. Louis Lambert International Airport in north St. Louis County, St. Charles and MidAmerica St. Louis Airport in the Metro East. Boeing declined to specify exactly how many employees in the region will be furloughed.
The facilities produce equipment for the defense side of Boeing’s business — like fighter jets and unmanned fueling drones — according to the company’s website.
Boeing said furloughed employees will be off work for one week every four weeks during the strike at the company’s Washington headquarters.
With production paused in the Pacific Northwest, Boeing CEO and President Kelly Ortberg said the select employees will be notified on Thursday and furloughed over the coming days. Those workers will maintain their benefits during the furlough. Ortberg and the leadership team also will take a pay cut during the strike.
“While this is a tough decision that impacts everybody, it is in an effort to preserve our long-term future and help us navigate through this very difficult time,” Ortberg said in a note to employees on Thursday.
After the union members rejected a tentative deal, employees who work on the commercial side of the aviation giant walked off the job last week in the Seattle area, calling for higher wages and reinstated pensions.
