It's no great secret that Boeing has been struggling lately. Plagued by problems with first its 787 Dreamliner program, then its 737 MAX aircraft, and more recently with its defense and space business, Boeing was losing money even before the pandemic struck in 2020.

Boeing will furlough its executives, managers and other white-collar employees one week of every four for the duration of a strike that union employees voted to authorize last week amid negotiations over pay and pension.