Boeing reports £4.6bn quarterly loss ahead of vote by union members

Union machinists wave signs next to company’s factory in Everett, Washington (AP)

Boeing has reported a massive loss of more than six billion dollars (£4.6 billion) in the third quarter, dragged down by a work stoppage and charges tied to its commercial aircraft and defence programmes.

Wednesday is shaping up as one of the most significant days in a volatile year for Boeing, which will also introduce its new chief executive on his first earnings call, and learn if machinists will end a strike that has crippled the company’s aircraft production for more than a month.