Boeing said Wednesday it is temporarily laying off tens of thousands of managers, executives and non-union contractors as the strike by 33,000 union members continues.

Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg announced Wednesday that the company will begin furloughing employees in an effort to conserve cash amid a union strike over a pay dispute. In a message to staff, Ortberg said the company would begin furloughing "a large number" of employees,

CEO Kelly Ortberg says he will take a pay cut. Credit-ratings firms have warned of a downgrade.

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

As Boeing's machinists continue to strike, furloughs and pay reductions are in store for the rest of the company.

Boeing is temporarily furloughing executives and other nonunion workers to save cash during the strike by 33,000 members of the International Association of Machinists, CEO Kelly Ortberg told employees in an email Wednesday.

Boeing is suspending the jobs of tens of thousands of staff in the US in response to a strike that has shut down production of some of its airplanes. The aerospace giant said US-based executives, managers and staff would be asked to take one week of furlough every four weeks as long as the stand-off lasts.

Boeing and its largest union will restart contract talks on Wednesday in the presence of federal mediators, after failing to agree on key issues such as wages and pensions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said.

The aerospace giant said it would temporarily lay off tens of thousands of employees to stem losses from a walkout by the machinists’ union.