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 said furloughs began on Friday for thousands of employees in Washington State and Oregon, after more than 32,000 workers went on strike last week, halting production of the U.S. planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX and other jets.

The union that represents aerospace engineers at Boeing rejected a request from the company to furlough workers.