Boeing shares rise as planemaker makes new wage offer to end strike

(Reuters) -Boeing rose 2% in early trading on Friday after the U.S. planemaker bumped up its wage hike offer to about 33,000 striking workers, its latest effort to end a damaging strike after two earlier attempts were rebuffed by employees.

The workers will on Monday vote on the proposal that boosts wage hike to 38% over four years from a 35% increase earlier and offers an improved $12,000 ratification bonus, but does not meet their key demand of a return to a defined-benefit pension.

Workers have the option of putting a lump sum of $5,000 from the bonus into their 401(k) retirement account or take cash.

That option coupled with the possibility that workers could see 20% of their salary go into their retirement account, may sway pension hardliners, Jefferies analyst Sheila Kahyaoglu wrote in a note.

Workers have so far lost $10,400 in wages on average, eclipsing the average first year pay rise under the offer, Kahyaoglu said, adding that recent capital increase puts Boeing in a stronger negotiating position.

However, it is not clear which way workers will vote as the new proposal has evoked mixed reactions. The Machinists union has endorsed Boeing’s latest offer, saying it has extracted everything it could, while warning that future offers maybe regressive.

The labor action has prompted Wall Street analysts to scan Reddit posts and social media reactions to gauge workers’ sentiment after employees defied predictions on previous contracts votes.

The seven-week strike has halted production of Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX jets as well as its 767 and 777 widebodies, leading to a $6 billion loss in the third quarter and complicating CEO Kelly Ortberg’s turnaround efforts.

Boeing shares have fallen 8.3% since the strike began in September.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)