SEATTLE (Reuters) – Boeing workers on the U.S. West Coast, where the planemaker’s main factories are located, went on strike in large numbers on Friday to demand higher wages.

This halt in production, while the group regularly struggles to meet its deadlines, threatens to further penalize the American manufacturer, overwhelmed by a debt of 60 billion dollars (54.14 billion euros).

The strike, the first since 2008, began at midnight local time (0700 GMT Friday) at sites in Seattle and Portland, which employ around 30,000 people assembling various aircraft models, including the 737 MAX.

“I’m prepared to strike for two months, maybe longer. Let’s go as long as it takes to get what we deserve,” said James Mann, 26.

The strike comes just weeks after Kelly Ortberg took office as Boeing’s new chief executive, whose primary mission is to restore confidence in the planemaker after a series of safety issues with some of its planes.

IAM union members voted 96% in favor of the strike and rejected by 94.6% the draft agreement reached by their representatives with Boeing management.

“This is about fighting for our future,” said Jon Holden, the IAM’s lead negotiator. The union will return to the bargaining table as quickly as possible, he told reporters, without specifying how long the strike will last or when negotiations will resume.

Boeing, for its part, said it was ready to return to the negotiating table.

“The message that was sent clearly is that the proposed agreement we reached with IAM officials was not acceptable to their members,” Boeing said in a statement. “We remain committed to rebuilding our relationship with our employees and the union and are prepared to return to the negotiating table to reach a new agreement.”

Boeing also said it has done everything it can for workers, taking into account the investments needed to replace its best-selling single-aisle models.

The Biden administration is in contact with both sides, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday. “We will encourage both sides to negotiate in this way, in good faith and reaching a solid agreement,” she added.

The agreement rejected by employees included a 25 percent across-the-board wage increase, a $3,000 bonus and a commitment by Boeing to assemble its next plane in the Seattle area, provided the program is launched within four years.

IAM leaders recommended last Sunday that their members approve the agreement, but many workers met it with anger, considering it far removed from their initial demand for a 40% pay rise and lamenting the loss of an annual bonus.

Boeing shares have fallen 36% since the start of the year on the New York Stock Exchange, as the planemaker faces a series of reliability problems with its aircraft, production difficulties and a growing debt pile, which has reached $60 billion (54 billion euros).

The last strike at Boeing in 2008 shut down factories for 52 days and cost the planemaker $100 million a day.

(Joe Brock, with Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Shepardson in Washington; Jean Terzian, Bertrand Boucey and Kate Entringer, edited by Sophie Louet)

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