Boeing posts €3.65bn loss in fourth quarter amid strikes and programme challenges

Boeing posted a fourth-quarter loss of $3.8bn (€3.65bn) on Tuesday. (Ted S Warren/AP)

Boeing posted a fourth-quarter loss of $3.8bn (€3.65bn) on Tuesday as a machinists’ strike and other problems continued to plague the troubled aircraft manufacturer.

Boeing has lost more than $35bn (€33.6bn) since 2019 following the crashes of two then-new Max jets that killed 346 people.

The numbers Boeing released are in line with figures pre-reported by the company last week, including nearly $3bn (€2.9bn) worth of charges in the period due to the labour stoppage, job cuts and problems with a number of government programmes.

Boeing’s loss per share was $5.46 dollars (€5.24) per share, well above the $3.08 (€2.95) loss that Wall Street analysts expected, according to the data firm FactSet.

The fourth quarter capped a rough year for Boeing.

A strike by the machinists who assemble the best-selling 737 Max, along with the 777 jet and the 767 cargo plane at factories in Renton and Everett, Washington, halted production at those facilities and hampered Boeing’s delivery capability.

The walkout ended after more than seven weeks when the company agreed to pay rises and improved benefits.