The US Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General (OIG) has determined that the Federal Aviation Administration's audit processes are not comprehensive enough to adequately identify key discrepancies and non-compliances within the Boeing production line. The US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation had asked the office to evaluate the oversight of Boeing 737 and 787 aircraft production by the FAA, which, like the OIG, operates within the Transportation department. The OIG conducts independent audits and investigations of DOT programmes to gauge their efficiency and effectiveness. In its 9 October report, the office says the compliance and enforcement action (CEA) system used by the FAA "is not effective for tracking milestones or determining if identified issues are repetitive and thus require elevated FAA action". It adds: "FAA's approach to overseeing Boeing manufacturing and production does not use data-driven assessments to target audits, and FAA has not structured its audits to perform comprehensive assessments." The OIG has also determined that the US regulator "has not adequately ensured that Boeing and its suppliers can produce parts that conform to the approved design". Speaking on 13 June during a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to assess the FAA's oversight of aircraft manufacturing, FAA administrator Mike Whitaker reiterated that the regulator has capped 737 Max production, adding: "We will not grant any production expansion of the Max above that level until we're satisfied they can do so safely". Boeing is allowed to produce no more than 38 units per month under the production cap enacted by the FAA following the 5 January Alaska Airlines Max 9 door-plug incident.

Boeing is delaying delivery of its first 777X aircraft to 2026, concluding 767 freighter production in 2027 and reducing its workforce by approximately 10% amid an ongoing strike by its machinists and resulting work stoppage.The US airframer's chief executive Kelly Ortberg told employees in a company memo on 11 October that development challenges, a flight test pause and the work stoppage has delayed the 777X programme's timeline. Additionally, he notes that Boeing will build and deliver the remaining on-order 767 freighters and conclude production of the commercial programme in 2027. "We must also reset our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and to a more focused set of priorities," Ortberg says in the memo. Boeing's 10% workforce reduction during "the coming months" will include executives, managers and employees. "We know these decisions will cause difficulty for you, your families and our team, and I sincerely wish we could avoid taking them," Ortberg says. "However, the state of our business and our future recovery require tough actions." He notes that the company needs to focus its resources "on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment". Members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) on 12 September voted in favour of a strike, rejecting the tentative new labour agreement reached by Boeing and the union on 8 September Boeing disclosed on 8 October that it had withdrawn its latest contract offer and paused negotiations with the union representing about 33,000 machinists after a third round of talks with a federal mediator broke down. The company expects to report on 23 October third-quarter revenue of $17.8 billion. Cash and investments in marketable securities totalled $10.5 billion at the end of September.

Air Canada's pilots have voted to approve a new four-year collective agreement. The more than 5,200 pilots were represented in negotiations by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), which in mid-September agreed a tentative pact with Air Canada. "This contract is the largest labour agreement in Air Canada's history and reflects contributions that our pilots bring to the success of our airline," states Charlene Hudy, chair of the Air Canada ALPA master executive council. "We look forward to working under these improved pay rates and working conditions while continuing to connect our passengers to Canada, North America and the world." Air Canada chief executive Michael Rousseau notes that the "mutually beneficial" contract "creates a framework for future growth of the airline and its network".