Ending a strike involving more than 30,000 of Boeing's Seattle-area workers is "a top priority" for the aviation giant, chief executive Kelly Ortberg said in a message to staff Friday."Ending the strike is a top priority,

The planemaker finds itself in an increasingly untenable situation with its finances so dire that it can ill afford a drawn-out paralysis.

Boeing will furlough tens of thousands of its executives, managers and others as more than 30,000 machinists intend to go on strike Friday in Seattle and Oregon.