Boeing Yanks Its 'Best Offer' to Striking Workers

Boeing made a "best and final offer" to 33,000 striking workers in late September. It's now yanked it off the table. The Guardian reports the company has withdrawn it's 30% pay increase offer, which would have been phased in over four years, after talks reached a stalemate. The company says that after Monday and Tuesday talks with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) went nowhere, no further negotiations are planned. More:

• What the IAM wants: A 40% increase and a defined-benefit pension brought back. It has branded Boeing as being "hell-bent on standing on the non-negotiated offer."
• What Boeing says it offered: Boeing said average annual pay for machinists would jump from $75,608 to $111,155 at the close of the four-year contract, per the AP.

• Boeing's take: The company's Commercial Airplanes CEO, Stephanie Pope, said in a letter to employees that "the union did not seriously consider our proposals" made this week, which she said included "new and improved proposals to try to reach a compromise, including increases in take-home pay and retirement. ... Further negotiations do not make sense at this point and our offer has been withdrawn."
• The IAM's take: The union countered that Boeing "refused to propose any wage increases" or changes to benefits like sick leave and pension contributions.
• The impact: The AP notes the IAM represents the workers who assemble some of Boeing's primary planes, and has brought production of 737s, 777s, and 767s to a halt. CNBC reports S&P Global Ratings on Tuesday put the cost of the stoppage at more than $1 billion per month. Boeing's stock was down slightly, at about 3%, at the market's open on Wednesday.

(More Boeing stories.)