US: Boeing to curb overtime for salaried workers

Boeing said Wednesday it is curbing use of paid overtime by 80,000 salaried workers based in the US, part of a company-wide effort to reduce costs to deal with intense competition. Starting Oct. 14, Boeing will halt overtime for salaried employees not entitled to overtime pay by law "except in the case of pre-approved production- or mission-critical work," according to an internal memo confirmed by a company spokesman. When such work is needed, "Boeing organizations that pay exempt overtime — and most don't — will pay it only when it is discussed with and approved in advance by the employee’s direct manager," the memo said. Pay for Boeing's union employees will follow existing labor contracts and overtime for those workers is already managed. "This new policy is another step in the company’s efforts to improve our affordability and competitiveness so that we can better position ourselves to grow sales to customers," spokesman Chaz Bickers said.<br/>