After a tumultuous year, the last thing Boeing needed was a union strike. Shares of the aircraft manufacturing giant touched new 52-week lows on Friday as a labor dispute involving its largest unionized workforce — the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) — was set to enter into a second week.

Boeing said furloughs began on Friday for thousands of employees in Washington State and Oregon, after more than 32,000 workers went on strike last week, halting production of the U.S. planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX and other jets.

Boeing is furloughing tens of thousands of white-collar employees in an effort to cut costs and avoid a credit-rating cut in the midst of a strike by its largest union.The jet maker will furlough affected employees for one week out of every four weeks for the duration of the walkout,