last month, promised to improve water quality.

The walkout, which began in September and lasted for seven weeks, held up production of the 737 Max, the 777 and the 767 freighter.In the past, the company had become accustomed to negotiating from a position of strength, only this time it was in a weak position, and according to Bjorn Fehrm, employees were out for revenge.

"It was obvious to them that the old management had basically screwed them. That was the sentiment. They were absolutely disgusted with how they had been treated in the old contract," he explains.The result was a bitter dispute, at a time when the company was trying to instil a new working culture, and Mr Ortberg had promised to "reset" relations with its employees.Boeing had to dig deep to come up with a deal that satisfied their demands, which included a 38% pay rise over four years. According to consultants Anderson Economic Group, the strike cost the company more than $5.5 billion.

All of this came at a time when the aerospace giant was already struggling financially. In the first nine months of 2024 it racked up losses of nearly $8bn (£6.3bn). As a result, it set out plans to cut 17,000 jobs, or a tenth of its workforce.Boeing's problems have taken a heavy toll on its business. Where once it went toe to toe with its

, it has now delivered fewer aircraft in each of the past five years.

In the first nine months of 2024 it distributed 291 planes to its customers, while Airbus provided 497, according to Forecast International.On top of all this, the company faces a crisis of confidence from within its own ranks, says Bjorn Fehrm, an aeronautical and economic analyst at industry consultants Leeham Company.

"People in Boeing don't believe in words from top management any more," he says.Sam Mohawk is a 51-year-old quality assurance investigator at Boeing's factory in Renton near Seattle, a huge plant where the

It is the company's best-selling aircraft, but one with a chequered safety record.Earlier this year Mr Mohawk came forward as a whistleblower, claiming that chaos on the factory floor in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic had led to thousands of faulty or "non-conforming" parts going missing, and potentially being fitted aboard aircraft that have since been sent to customers.