HAZELWOOD, Mo. – Although they are thousands of miles away from the Midwest, Boeing workers striking on the west coast could impact more than 15,000 St. Louis Boeing employees.

Boeing workers are striking after a memo from Boeing’s Chief Financial Officer, Brian West, lays out 10 immediate cutbacks, saying Boeing’s business is in a difficult period.

Some 33,000 Boeing workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, went on strike early last Friday.

Union members rejected an offer that included a 25% pay increase over four years. The union was seeking an increase of at least 40%. The strike is taking place at locations in the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. The impact could be far-reaching.

The cutbacks outlined in the memo that went out to workers Monday include a hiring freeze across all levels of the company, stopping all travel that isn’t critical, and possible temporary layoffs for many employees, managers, and executives in the coming weeks.

Other cutbacks include reducing spending on suppliers and pausing pay increases for managers and executives who have been promoted.

The company says the moves are to save cash during the strike. West writes in the memo that the strike jeopardizes Boeing’s recovery in a significant way.

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Boeing, of course, has a major military business here in the St. Louis area and employs many thousands of people in our region.

A Boeing spokesperson says that the actions laid out in the memo are applicable across the company. However, that spokesperson did not say when the cuts might start or how they would directly impact Boeing’s local operations.

Boeing officials and union representatives are scheduled to meet today with federal mediators. We will see where this all goes from here.

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