Davon Smith, 37, earns under $28 (£21) an hour attaching the wings to Boeing 777X planes, which sell for over $400m (£300m) each. He also works as a security guard at a bar to make ends meet.

The company has about 170,000 employees nationwide, with nearly 67,000 in Washington, per Business Journal research. Selected workers will be furloughed for one week every four weeks, but will maintain health benefits. At the same time, Boeing leadership will take "commensurate" pay cuts, Ortberg said, without disclosing details.

Nonunion employees will experience one-week furloughs every four weeks as the troubled planemaker struggles to conserve cash.