EVERETT, Wash. (AP) \u2014 Boeing reported a loss of more than $6 billion in the third quarter and immediately turned its attention to union workers who will vote Wednesday whether to accept a company contract offer or continue their crippling strike, which has dragged on for nearly six weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New CEO Kelly Ortberg laid out his plan to turn Boeing<\/a> around after years of heavy losses and damage to its reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In remarks he planned to deliver later Wednesday to investors, Ortberg said Boeing needs \u201ca fundamental culture change in the company.\u201d To accomplish that, he said, company leaders need to spend more time on factory floors to know what is going on and \u201cprevent the festering of issues and work better together to identify, fix, and understand root cause.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ortberg repeated that he wants to \u201creset\u201d management\u2019s relationship with labor \u201cso we don\u2019t become so disconnected in the future.\u201d He expressed hope that machinists will vote to approve the company\u2019s latest contract offer and end their strike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt will take time to return Boeing to its former legacy, but with the right focus and culture, we can be an iconic company and aerospace leader once again,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The strike is an early test for Ortberg, a Boeing outsider who became CEO in August<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ortberg has already announced large-scale layoffs<\/a> and a plan to raise enough cash<\/a> to avoid a bankruptcy filing. He needs to convince federal regulators that Boeing is fixing its safety culture and is ready to boost production of the 737 Max \u2014 a crucial step to bring in much-needed cash.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing can’t produce any new 737s, however, until it ends the strike by 33,000 machinists that has shut down assembly plants in the Seattle area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ortberg has “got a lot on his plate, but he probably is laser-focused on getting this negotiation completed. That\u2019s the closest alligator to the boat,\u201d said Tony Bancroft, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds, a Boeing investor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $6.17 billion in the period ended Sept. 30, with an adjusted loss of $10.44 per share. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research were calling for a loss of $10.34 per share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Revenue totaled $17.84 billion, matching Wall Street estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shares were flat before the opening bell. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Boeing hasn\u2019t had a profitable year since 2018, and Wednesday\u2019s numbers represent the second-worst quarter in Boeing’s history. The long-profitable company\u2019s fortunes soured after two of its 737 Max jetliners crashed in October 2018 and March 2019, killing 346 people. Safety concerns were renewed when a panel blew off a Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ortberg said Boeing is at a crossroads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe trust in our company has eroded. We\u2019re saddled with too much debt. We\u2019ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company, which have disappointed many of our customers,\u201d the new CEO said. But he also highlighted the company\u2019s strengths, including a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n