The American aircraft manufacturer Boeing announced on Tuesday several measures to replenish its cash flow, undermined by recurring production problems and a major strike in American factories.
In a stock market document, the company gives itself the possibility of placing various securities on the market such as bonds or shares, in order to replenish its cash flow affected by the social movement which, according to the Anderson Economic Group (AEG), has caused it to already cost more than $3 billion in its first month.
The operations may be carried out in several installments and according to a schedule which will be specified subsequently. The group also said it had secured $10 billion in additional credit lines from several banks.
Convalescing after plane crashes in 2018 and 2019 (which left 346 dead in total) and the Covid-19 pandemic, the aircraft manufacturer’s cash flow is melting as the strike of more than 33,000 workers in the north continues. western United States.
This movement by members of the IAM machinists’ union in the Seattle region completely shut down the group’s two main factories: that of Renton, which produces the 737, its best-selling plane, and that of Everett, which manufactures the 777, the 767 as well as several military programs.
In response, the aircraft manufacturer had already announced on Friday “structural changes” to get out of the doldrums. In particular, it intends to reduce its workforce by around 10% in the coming months. At the end of 2023, the group employed almost 171,000 people, including 41,000 outside the United States.
Boeing also announced on Friday $5 billion in pre-tax charges in its third-quarter accounts, partly due to the strike, as well as the cessation of production of the 767 Freight. Its quarterly results will be published on October 23.
For the Melius Research firm, “the longer the strike continues, the more Boeing risks seeing its rating lowered by the rating agencies because it is not delivering planes and is not generating cash”.
In preliminary trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, around 11:50 GMT, the aircraft manufacturer’s stock gained around 1%.
