Boeing falls after 10% layoff, $5bn charge

In this article:

Investing.com -- Managers at Boeing (NYSE:BA) are due to find out more details this week about the aerospace giant's plan to slash around 17,000 positions.

The cuts, which will amount to 10% of Boeing's global headcount, will have an impact on roles around the business and include executives, managers and staff.

Boeing will also delay the first deliveries of its 777X plane by a year and book $5 billion in losses in the third quarter, it said in a preliminary earnings announcement.

Chief Executive Kelly Ortberg told employees on Friday that "tough decisions," such as structural changes, will be needed to bolster the performance of the wider group and ensure its long-term competitiveness.

"We need to be clear-eyed about the work we face and realistic about the time it will take to achieve key milestones on the path to recovery," Ortberg said in a letter to employees on Friday.

"We also need to focus our resources on performing and innovating in the areas that are core to who we are, rather than spreading ourselves across too many efforts that can often result in underperformance and underinvestment."

Ortberg has been attempting to navigate Boeing through a prolonged strike by workers in the US Pacific Northwest that is leading to heavy expenses and placing its bond rating in jeopardy of slipping into junk territory. Analysts have said that the company will need to raise at least $10 billion in fresh financing to shore up its finances.

Shares in Boeing dipped in premarket US trading on Monday.

In a note to clients on Monday, analysts at JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) lowered their price target for Boeing, assuming the business achieves roughly breakeven free cash flow in 2025 and carries out a fresh share sale.

"With cash burn likely in [the first half of 2025] and $4 billion of debt due as well, Boeing should need additional liquidity and this is already part of the discussion," the JPMorgan analysts said.

Elsewhere, analysts at Wells Fargo maintained an "Underweight" outlook for Boeing, citing "a long list of risks in the coming year," including union negotiations, softening airline yields and continued scrutiny over its recent safety record.

However, strategists at Vertical Research Partners backed Ortberg's ability to "sort out this mess" and said Boeing remains one of only three mega-cap entry points in a possible "aerospace upcycle." They reiterated their "Hold" rating of the Boeing's stock.

Related Articles

Boeing falls after 10% layoff, $5bn charge

US macro backdrop backs Cyclical stocks, says Morgan Stanley

Futures mixed ahead of week packed with earnings, economic data

Advertisement