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Boeing said it aims to end a strike led by its largest labor union by offering an improved offer, including a 30% pay raise and the restoration of annual bonus payments that were due to be canceled.
“We have made significant improvements to save more money in key areas,” the company said, calling the new offer for mechanics “the best contract offer, and the last one.”
Boeing said workers have until midnight Friday to accept the offer.
The Machinists Union, which has about 33,000 employees and is Boeing’s largest labor union, began the strike on Sept. 13 after 95 percent of its members rejected the company’s previous offer of a four-year contract.
The rejected contract had included a 25% wage increase over four years, while the workers were demanding a 40% increase.
The strike is affecting Boeing production around Seattle in the northwestern United States, where models such as the best-selling 737 and the long-range 777 are made. Boeing was already behind on 737 deliveries to several airlines.
Boeing, a competitor to Airbus, is facing a crisis after a series of accidents.
Following an incident in January in which a new Boeing jet’s fuselage was torn off shortly after takeoff, the company has been barred from expanding production of the 737 series for the time being.
Boeing has responded to the strike with a number of measures, including a hiring freeze. In addition, some employees are being temporarily suspended and commercial flights are being reduced to only essentials.
The last union-led strike in 2008 lasted 57 days and cost the company about $2 billion, according to analysts.
