According to CCTV News on the 27th, citing the Wall Street Journal on the 25th local time, Boeing (BA, stock price: $155.01; total market value: $95.83 billion) is considering selling some of its space business to improve the company's tight financial situation.
Boeing is currently facing a serious financial crisis. Just this week, Boeing workers voted to reject the company's latest contract offer, extending the strike once again and causing most aircraft production to come to a halt. The company also announced its worst quarterly performance in history this week, with a cumulative loss of up to $6 billion in the third quarter.
For decades, Boeing has been closely collaborating with NASA on large-scale projects, including the Apollo astronaut missions and the creation of space stations. But in recent years, Musk's SpaceX has replaced Boeing as NASA's most important partner.
In June, American astronauts Wilmore and Williams boarded the Boeing Interstellar spacecraft for the first manned test flight to the International Space Station. However, due to issues such as propulsion failures and helium leaks, their return time was repeatedly delayed and they are still stranded in space, which has dealt a serious blow to Boeing's reputation. In addition, since the beginning of this year, Boeing aircraft accidents have been continuous, exposing serious quality and safety loopholes, leading to a significant decline in Boeing aircraft sales, and causing the company to be criticized by regulatory agencies, legislators, and airlines.
Boeing is considering selling its space business
According to CCTV News, informed sources have revealed to The Wall Street Journal that Boeing may sell businesses related to the operation of interstellar spacecraft and support for the International Space Station, but not involving the department responsible for building space launch systems. Boeing stated in response to inquiries that it does not comment on market rumors or speculations.
Boeing's StarCraft spacecraft project has been severely hindered for many years due to development delays and technical issues, resulting in the company bearing over $1.8 billion in additional costs. Boeing was once responsible for transporting two astronauts to the International Space Station, but due to delays in the spacecraft project, they are still stranded on the station and are scheduled to return on a SpaceX spacecraft in February next year. For many years, Boeing has been responsible for the module construction and maintenance of the International Space Station.
However, the International Space Station is expected to retire in 2030, and NASA is considering using space stations built by other companies to replace it. To make matters worse, a communication satellite designed and manufactured by Boeing recently experienced an anomaly in space and eventually disintegrated, producing a large amount of debris. Various accidents have raised concerns about Boeing's space business research and production capabilities.
Boeing is still facing a six week long strike by 33000 workers in its civil aircraft manufacturing division.
About 33000 Boeing employees go on strike
According to Beijing Business Daily, on October 23rd local time, Boeing voted on a new salary agreement among striking workers in Washington, Oregon, and California on the West Coast of the United States. The results released late that night showed that 64% of workers opposed the new salary agreement, and therefore the strike will continue.
On the 23rd, in Washington D.C., Boeing workers voted to reject a salary agreement and the strike continued.
The new agreement includes a 35% salary increase within 4 years; Restore annual production performance bonuses of approximately thousands of dollars per transaction; Each worker who supports the new agreement can receive a one-time payment of $7000.
According to the Associated Press, the average annual salary for Boeing mechanics is $75600. The workers who participated in the vote expressed their opposition to the new agreement because key issues related to pensions have not been resolved.
The strike was caused by the breakdown of negotiations between labor and management to renew a new contract. Boeing employees voted against the salary plan proposed by management in September, and approximately 33000 employees subsequently went on strike.
According to Reuters, the existing expired contract was signed in 2014, and Boeing threatened to move the production of the new 777 aircraft out of the West Coast region of the United States in exchange for forcibly stopping a traditional pension policy in labor negotiations. The management has repeatedly proposed new salary plans in this round of labor management negotiations, but has not relaxed its stance on restoring pension policies.
The Boeing mechanics who participated in the strike mainly produced Boeing's flagship model, the 737 MAX, as well as the 777 passenger plane and 767 freighter. Reuters commented that the ongoing strike has dampened the hopes of investors and Boeing executives to resolve this intense dispute.
Boeing's financial report released earlier on the 23rd showed a loss of $6.17 billion in the third quarter, with revenue of $17.84 billion and cash reserves of $1.96 billion depleted. Currently, the company has liabilities of $58 billion. This is also the first financial report submitted by the new CEO Kelly Altberg since his inauguration in early August.
During the performance conference call, Kelly Otterberg bluntly stated that Boeing is at a crossroads, and the trust of the outside world in the company has been eroded. At the same time, Boeing is also burdened with too much debt, and the entire company has shown serious mistakes, which has disappointed many customers. However, Boeing also has huge opportunities, currently holding orders worth $500 billion.
So my task is simple and straightforward, which is to steer the Boeing ship in the right direction, and to achieve this, changes need to be made in four specific areas, "said Kelly Altberg.
Daily Economic News Comprehensive CCTV News, Beijing Business Daily
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