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SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Wednesday it would suspend annual merit pay increases in 2021 for most employees, managers and executives as the embattled US aircraft manufacturer grapples with the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic and crisis. of the 737 MAX.
Boeing also said it was giving employees, excluding executives and tens of thousands of engineers and machinists covered by union contracts, a one-time award of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs), determined by level.
The news mix, delivered just before the U.S. holiday in a memo to CEO Dave Calhoun’s employees, culminates a year in which Boeing has cut thousands of jobs and cut production while waiting for a recovery still within. of years.
“The next chapter in our story will be built on a culture of excellence anchored in shared responsibility and ownership,” Calhoun told employees.
The grant, the first of its kind at Boeing in recent memory, will be awarded to about 82,000 employees and will be awarded three years after the grant date on Tuesday, Calhoun said.
Boeing said days earlier that it was cutting production of its 787 Dreamliner for the fourth time in 18 months after recording zero deliveries in November, as recent production failures compound delays caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
The pandemic decimated demand for air travel and aircraft just as Boeing was working to gain regulatory approval to return its best-selling aircraft, the 737 MAX, to the skies after a global ban following crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia that killed 346 people.
The MAX is expected to resume service in the US later this month following flights in Brazil and Mexico.
In late October, Boeing said it was cutting about 30,000 jobs to reach a workforce of around 130,000 by the end of 2021, thousands more than previously discussed.
Calhoun has forecast that air traffic would end the year at around 30% to 35% of 2019 levels, with a return to pre-pandemic levels in about three years.
“I know we will come out of this as a better company, one that is recognized for its safety, transparency and quality,” Calhoun told employees.
Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Stephen Coates
