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 operates its defense business, which is in a separate unit from the company’s commercial plane segment, in the St. Louis area. There are about 15,000 Boeing workers here.