Boeing posts $3.8 bn loss in Q4, leading total loss to $35 bn since 2019

Boeing posted a fourth-quarter loss of $3.8 billion on Tuesday as a machinists strike and other problems continued to plague the troubled aircraft manufacturer.

Boeing has lost more than $35 billion since 2019 following the crashes of two then-new Max jets that killed 346 people.

The numbers Boeing released are in line with what the company pre-reported last week, including nearly $3 billion worth of charges in the period due to the labour stoppage, job cuts and problems with a number of government programmes.

Boeing's loss per share was $5.46 per share, well above the $3.08 loss that Wall Street analysts expected, according to the data firm FactSet.

The fourth quarter caps a rough year for Boeing. A strike by the machinists who assemble the best-selling 737 Max, along with the 777 jet and the 767 cargo plane at factories in Renton and Everett, Washington, halted production at those facilities and hampered Boeing's delivery capability.

The walkout ended after more than seven weeks when the company agreed to pay raises and improved benefits.