Boeing

Boeing is an American corporation, one of the world's largest manufacturers of aviation, space and military equipment. The headquarters is located in Chicago (Illinois, USA).

Aircraft deliveries

Performance indicators

2022

Loss growth to $5 billion

At the end of 2022, Boeing's net losses reached $5.05 billion, an increase from the monetary losses a year ago of $4.29 billion. The company cites such data in its statements published at the end of January 2023.

Revenue calculated according to the methodology GAAP (generally recognized accounting principles) in 2022 amounted to $66.61 billion. This is about 7% more than the result for 2021, when Boeing received $62.29 billion.

In the commercial segment, during 2022, Boeing shipped 480 airliners to customers. A year earlier, 340 aircraft were delivered. Thus, the growth was 41%. The revenue of the corresponding division rose by 33% - from $19.49 billion in 2021 to $25.87 billion in 2022. It is noted that the volume of outstanding orders exceeds 4,500 aircraft for a total of $330 billion. According to the Boeing 737 project, by the end of 2022, the company reached the production volume of 31 airliners per month with plans to increase production to about 50 aircraft per month in 2025-2026. The production of Boeing 787 airliners is still difficult, but at the end of 2023 the company expects to organize the production of five aircraft per month, and in 2025-2026 - up to 10 of these wide-body aircraft per month.

In the division, which is responsible for orders for the defense industry, space industry and security sector, revenue in 2022 amounted to $23.16 billion. This is 13% less than the figure for 2021, which was $26.54 billion. The volume of outstanding orders reaches $54 billion, of which 28% falls on customers outside the United States.

Another approximately $17.61 billion in 2022 brought global services. For comparison: in 2021, the revenue of this direction was $16.33 billion. An increase of about 8% was recorded^[1]

Loss growth 73 times to $4.3 billion in 9 months

The largest American aircraft manufacturer Boeing reported an increase in its own losses by 72.9 times - to $4.301 billion for 9 months of 2022.

2020: 19-fold loss growth, to $20.88 billion

In 2020, Boeing registered revenue of $58.16 billion, which is 24% less than a year ago, equal to $76.56 billion.

The company's losses in 2020 increased 19 times (to $20.88 billion against $636 million a year earlier) due to write-offs related to the 777X long-haul aircraft program.

In addition, the coronavirus pandemic had a negative impact on the financial performance of the American manufacturer of aviation, space and military equipment, COVID-19 as a result of which the demand for air transportation sharply decreased. The ban on 737 airliners MAX flights, which was in effect throughout almost all of 2020, also had an impact.

The return of 737 MAHs to service in the US and some other markets was a major step... After receiving FAA approval to resume operation, Boeing delivered more than 40 aircraft 737 MAX, the company said in a statement. By January 25, 2021 five airlines resumed flights 737 MAX, making 2700 commercial flights with a total duration of about 5500 hours.

Boeing chief David Calhoun added that there had been "major social upheaval" over the course of the year that was holding back the industry.

As of December 31, 2020, Boeing collected orders from customers in the amount of $363.4 billion, which is significantly less than the previous year, when it came to contracts for $463.4 billion. Most of the orders that have yet to be completed by the end of 2020 ($281.59 billion) fell on the supply of commercial aircraft (Boeing speaks of planned shipments of more than 4 thousand units). The second largest area was projects in the field of defense, cosmonautics and security - here the company recorded orders for $60.8 billion. Another $20.63 billion was raised by the American concern as part of the provision of all kinds of services around the world.^[2]

History

2024

Boeing production satellite falls apart by 500 pieces of debris

At the end of October 2024, ExoAnalytic discovered 500 debris in geostationary orbit, into which Intelsat 33e, a satellite manufactured by Boeing, fell apart. Read more here.

Dismissal of 10% of employees due to lack of money

In mid-October 2024, it became known that Boeing plans to lay off 10% of its workers, that is, about 17,000 people, due to growing losses and a strike that paralyzed aircraft production. About 33,000 union members have been on strike since September 14. The talks yielded nothing, and Boeing filed a labor practice violation lawsuit against the International Aerospace Workers Association.

New CEO Kelly Ortberg said the cuts will affect both executives and managers as well as rank-and-file employees. Earlier, Boeing has already introduced temporary leave without maintenance, but due to the upcoming layoffs they were canceled. In addition, due to losses, the company postponed the release of the new 777X aircraft from 2025 to 2026 and intends to stop production of the cargo version of the 767 aircraft in 2027.

Boeing fires 10% of employees amid cash shortage

It is known that since the beginning of 2019, Boeing's losses amounted to more than $25 billion. Boeing said it spent $1.3 billion in cash in the quarter and lost $9.97 per share due to various deferred spending. At the end of September, the company had $10.5 billion in cash and securities. The strike is directly related to economic problems, as Boeing gets half or even more of the price of the planes in advance. The strike brought production of the 737 Max, Boeing's best-selling jet, as well as the 777s and 767s to a halt. The company still makes the Boeing 787 at a South Carolina plant whose employees did not form a union.

Ortberg said the situation "requires tough solutions and the company will have to make meaningful structural changes to ensure it is competitive and able to deliver quality products to our customers in the long term." ^[3]

Tens of thousands of employees go on strike over low salaries

In mid-September 2024, about 33,000 members of the Boeing union refused to go to work. They overwhelmingly rejected a proposed four-year contract with the aircraft manufacturer.

This is the first strike by the company's workers in 16 years, and it effectively halted production of commercial aircraft at one of the largest U.S. manufacturing concerns and exporters. Depending on the length of the strike, the company's problems could also affect 10,000 Boeing suppliers located in all 50 US states. The strike itself can bring losses of up to $3.5 billion.

Boeing employees strike over low salaries, production stopped

The union rejected the deal, which called for a pay rise of at least 25% over the duration of the contract. In addition, under that contract, Boeing promised not to build commercial aircraft of the new model in factories without a union that protects workers. 95% of union members voted against the deal, and in a separate vote, 96% favored strike action, easily passing the two-thirds threshold needed to approve such measures.

It's about fighting for our future, "said John Holden, president of Boeing's largest local union. - We will return to the negotiating table as soon as we can to achieve better working conditions.

Boeing management could have avoided a strike by entering into an agreement with the union before the pre-existing contract expires back in July 2024, but they did not agree. It is known that then employees of an enterprise in Seattle sought from the leadership the indexation of salaries by 40% over the next three years. In addition, the anger of employees was caused by numerous layoffs and the transfer of part of the work from the assembly plant where the union was located to the only plant of the company where there was no formed union.^[3]

Kelly Ortberg named chief executive amid major company losses

On July 31, 2024, Boeing Co. named Kelly Ortberg as its next chief executive, entrusting the retired aviation industry veteran with one of the toughest reorganization tasks in corporate America.

Boeing announced this after it reported a significant loss in the second quarter.

Starliner spacecraft problems make it unable to pick up American astronauts from space

In September 2024, it became known that the Boeing Starliner space capsule will return to Earth without a crew due to technical problems. Astronauts Wilmore and Williams will remain in space until 2025. Read more here.

Two auditors who talked about safety problems of Boeing aircraft died

In May 2024, the scandal around the aircraft giant Boeing continues to develop in the United States, accompanied by a series of mysterious deaths: on May 2, another person suddenly passed away there, telling the general public about violations in the production of aircraft.

The deceased Joshua Dean, an ex-quality auditor at Spirit AeroSystems, spoke about the management's disregard for defects in the Boeing 737 Max model. He testified in the lawsuit against the company's shareholders and also sent complaints to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. However, Dean was fired in April 2023.

When the door fell off at the Alaska Airlines Boeing in January 2024, the public drew attention to the problems: she remembered both the warnings of Joshua Dean and John Barnett, an ex-Boeing quality control engineer who publicly reported similar problems. As a result, the air giant was heavily criticized, and its aircraft gained a reputation for unreliability.

So, on February 5, a devastating article appeared on CNN, in which Boeing was called a company "previously known for its safety and engineering developments, and now focused only on profits."

And then the events developed according to an interesting scenario: first, on March 9, 2024, 62-year-old Barnett suddenly died of a "self-inflicted wound," and Dean died on May 2. The latter went to the hospital with complaints of difficulty breathing, then he developed pneumonia, and then Staphylococcus aureus was diagnosed, as a result of which the patient's organs failed.

Boeing doesn't care about safety: the company put decommissioned parts on aircraft

At the end of April 2024, it became known that Boeing, in an effort to increase profits, uses decommissioned parts on its airliners. This increases the likelihood of breakdown and poses a threat to the safety of flights.

The problem, according to The New York Times, was reported by Boeing veteran Merle Meyers, who worked for this company for about 30 years. He began his career at Boeing in 1979 and left the corporation in 2023 as a quality manager. Meyers stated that he has a deep affection for the aircraft company, but at the same time is "saddened and disappointed" by its policies. According to him, Boeing management for many years focused on production speed, and not on quality.

Boeing, in a bid to boost profits, uses decommissioned parts on its airliners

Meyers said he began to notice a decline in Boeing's high safety standards after its merger with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing's focus, initially focused on engineering, gradually gave way to a "stronger profit focus" - after McDonnell Douglas executives took top positions at the corporation.

According to Meyers' statements, workers at Boeing facilities were under such intense pressure from management that they began looking for unauthorized ways to obtain and use the components needed to make the planes. In particular, during assembly, parts intended for other models of liners were used, or products that, after delivery, did not have time to pass the necessary quality control. In addition, attempts were made to restore completely decommissioned spare parts. Components are usually disposed of because they do not meet standards or are defective, but workers have claimed in several cases that the parts were scrapped in error. Boeing managers turned a blind eye to such practices, Meyers said.^[4]

Boeing begins mass layoffs due to failed space rocket project

On April 18, 2024, Boeing announced a restructuring, which provides for a significant reduction in the number of personnel. One of the reasons for the mass layoffs is the difficulties with the implementation of projects providing for the use of a two-stage super-heavy launch vehicle Space Launch System (SLS).

As of the date, Boeing has not specified how many employees will lose their jobs. According to the resource Ars Technica, we are talking about hundreds of specialists. The layoffs will primarily affect the company's facilities in Alabama, Louisiana and Florida. The cuts will affect employees who are involved in the development program of the main stage of the SLS, as well as in the Exploration Upper Stage project to create a new upper stage of the rocket.

Boeing announced restructuring due to difficulties with Space Launch System

Due to external factors unrelated to the performance of our operations, Boeing is reviewing and adjusting the current staffing schedule for the Space Launch System program, the company said in a statement.

By external factors, Boeing means the postponement of NASA missions to explore and explore the moon. In particular, the implementation of the Artemis 2 mission, during which a manned flyby of the moon is planned with subsequent return to Earth, has been postponed from 2024 to September 2025. And the Artemis 3 phase, which involves the landing of astronauts in the South Pole region of the Earth's natural satellite, has been postponed until September 2026. Moreover, further delays are not excluded. For the Artemis 3 mission, a lunar lander and new spacesuits, which are being created by Axiom Space, must be prepared. Both of these components are under development as of April 2024. Against this background, NASA is cutting funding for Boeing, and therefore the company is forced to look for ways to reduce costs.^[5]

Planes fall apart in flight. Boeing engineer told US authorities that the company ignored problems with the quality of airliners

On April 9, 2024, it became known that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) initiated an investigation into statements by one of Boeing's engineers about the presence of defects in the fuselage design of Boeing 787 Dreamliner long-haul airliners. Because of these flaws, planes literally fall apart during flight.

According to The New York Times, specialist Sam Salehpour, who worked at Boeing for more than ten years, told about the problems. According to him, the fuselage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner consists of several giant sections from various manufacturers. Moreover, in the places of connection they have "not quite the same shape." Boeing Corporation, according to Salehpur's statements, made changes to the process of installing and interfacing these sections, which caused accidents in the air.

FAA initiated an investigation into claims by one of Boeing's engineers about defects in the fuselage structure

Boeing acknowledged that the production changes that Salehpur is talking about were indeed made in the process of assembling the aircraft. But company spokesman Paul Lewis said it "did not affect the longevity or safety of the liner." Lewis stressed that Boeing conducted extensive tests of the 787 Dreamliner and "concluded that this is not an immediate flight safety issue."

Boeing subsequently also said it had "full confidence in the reliability of the 787 Dreamliner," adding that "allegations of problems with the structural integrity of the aircraft are inaccurate" and "do not reflect the comprehensive work the company has done to ensure the quality and safety of the liner." However, there continue to be regular reports of problems with Boeing planes. So, in early April 2024, the liner of the Boeing-737-800 of the American airline Southwest Airlines during takeoff collapsed the skin of one of the engines.^[6]

Boeing paid $160 million to Alaska Airlines for a torn door in the air

Boeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation for the emergency landing of the airline's Boeing 737 MAX in January 2024. This became known in April 2024 from a statement by Alaska Airlines filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The funds received by the airline will go to cover lost profits in the first three months of 2024. Alaska Airlines expects further payments in the coming months in the coming moments. The company expects losses of $1.05-1.15 per share.

Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane that had emergency exit door blown off during flight in January 2024

On January 6, 2024, flight number 1282 of Alaska Airlines from Portland to Ontario, California, lost its exit door at the time of takeoff. A National Safety Council transport USA (NTSB) investigation later found that the door parts were not properly secured. As a result, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) stopped operation of the Boeing 737 MAX model and began an audit of the company. According to its results, numerous violations of quality control requirements were announced.

This incident was not the only one: on March 11, 2024, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner of the Chilean carrier Latam failed 100 meters during the flight, 50 people were injured. On March 16, 2024, a United Airlines Boeing 737-800 landed without part of the outer fuselage skin. Crew members and passengers were not injured. On March 29, 2024, a Boeing 777-200 of the same airline experienced engine problems and made an emergency landing.

Boeing has not commented on the compensation payment. Earlier, the company warned that it expects to spend at least $4 billion more in the first quarter than it planned.^[7]

Boeing management resigns after defective aircraft scandal

Boeing management is stepping down after a scandal involving defective planes. This decision was announced on March 25, 2024. Read more here.

US Federal Aviation Administration finds big problems in Boeing production

The US Federal Aviation Administration in March 2024 said it had found numerous production problems with Boeing and Spirit supplier AeroSystems. During the audit, numerous cases of non-compliance by companies with production quality control requirements were identified.

The head of Emirates criticized Boeing for the poor quality of the aircraft. Airline to send its engineers to produce them for the first time

In early February 2024, the head of one of the world's largest airlines Emirates, Tim Clark, criticized Boeing. According to him, there is a "progressive decrease" in the quality of aviation equipment of the named manufacturer.

In early January 2024, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 airliner tore out the emergency exit door when climbing. An alarm was announced about depressurization - the board urgently landed at Portland airport. As a result of the incident, no one was injured, however, this incident made a lot of noise. Alaska Airlines subsequently said it found "several loose bolts" on "many" of its Max 9 jets.

Emirates CEO criticizes Boeing

Boeing has "one last chance" to correct errors in terms of compliance with the safety and quality of the planes, Clark said. Emirates will send its engineers to oversee the aircraft manufacturer's production lines for the first time. The head of Emirates notes that Boeing should revise its production processes to improve the quality of equipment. In turn, Boeing Corporation says it intends to take measures to increase the level of trust on the part of customers.

Meanwhile, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has launched an investigation into Boeing's production process and banned the company from expanding the production of popular 737 Max jets. Some of Boeing's largest customer airlines expressed concern, noting that these issues could affect fleet operations. In 2018, an incident similar to what happened in January 2024 occurred with another Boeing 737 model operated by Southwest Airlines: then a woman died who was sucked into a broken aircraft porthole.^[8]

2023

Ransomware, without agreeing with Boeing, began to publish confidential data

Boeing confirmed the existence of a data leak from its information systems and announced the start of an investigation into the data leak incident. In addition, on October 31, the LockBit cyber group removed the company's logo from its website, which is a sign that company representatives contacted the group - it was Boeing's attention to the leak that was the stated goal of the launched meter. Apparently, the counterparties have begun negotiations.

However, on November 2, the company's name again appeared on the cyber group website, which most likely suggests that the buyout negotiations have reached a dead end. When the countdown timer was restored and counted to zero, the group published 4 GB of data from the first leak, threatening to publish about 500 GB more corporate data in a few days.

According to experts, the published fragment includes several gigabytes of data that contain important information: from the company's training materials to the list of technical suppliers. In addition, there are strategic documents of the company from 2018, which detail Boeing's forecast of the need for pilots until 2027. However, experts could not find materials later than 2020. Although this data looks like confidential and important for the company, now it is quite old and not critical.

Most likely, this publication was the next step in pressure on Boeing's management to pay a ransom for information so that really important and classified information was not published. It is possible that the group is also negotiating with Boeing competitors or special services of other states on the acquisition of stolen information by them. For them, this is a demonstration material with which they can make sure that LockBit really has confidential information in its hands.

The famous ransomware group announced the theft of information from Boeing

On the website of one of the most active ransomware groups LockBit, a message appeared about the hacking of Boeing's information systems using an unknown vulnerability and organizing the leakage of confidential data. Hackers promise to publish data received from the company that may be related to both civil and defense developments after November 2 if the company does not pay the ransom indicated by the attackers. However, as stated in the message of the group, at the moment they do not plan to publish information from the hacked system before the specified period, so as not to harm the company, but this does not guarantee that this situation will persist until the set time.

According to the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Agency (CISA), the LockBit cyber group began to operate actively in January 2020, offering ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) services, in which the company offers malicious software and infrastructure for extortion, and the partners themselves hack and steal data. At the same time, the funds received by the cyber group are divided between the participants in the successful operation. At the same time, CISA notes that the involved partners act independently, so the methods of penetration and infection they use differ, which makes them difficult to identify using standard detection methods.

According to the data provided by the Agency, the LockBit group is the most active, since since the beginning of its activities, 1.7 thousand cases of using the tools developed by it for stealing confidential information have been recorded. For the entire period of its activities, the group was paid $91 million. Moreover, 16% of all incidents related to extortion in the United States were associated with this group. According to the Flashpoint research agency, it was LockBit that ranked first in the number of incidents from July 2022 to June 2023: 1,046 attacks were attributed to it, 389 to BlackCat, and 239 to Black Basta.

Dismissal of about 2 thousand employees

In early February 2023, Boeing Aircraft Corporation announced the reduction of about 2 thousand employees. The dismissal will primarily affect employees of the company's financial department and human resources department.

It is noted that employees who are not members of the union will fall under dismissal. Despite the growth in the divisions of the corporation's places, some positions will be abolished. Such changes are related to streamlining workflows, Boeing's senior communications director Mike Friedman said. In particular, with the fact that at the end of 2022, some departments of the aircraft corporation became too large. And with this growth usually comes bureaucracy or disparate systems that are inefficient for doing business. Therefore, Boeing management decided to rationalize the company. Friedman said that even with the reduction of 2,000 jobs for white-collar workers, as well as the retirement of employees throughout the company, the hiring of production workers and engineers will ensure significant growth for Boeing in 2023, especially in the Puget Sound region.

About 1.5 thousand jobs will be reduced in the financial department, which is about a quarter of 5.8 thousand jobs throughout the company, and up to 400 more jobs in human resources department, about 15% of the total number of jobs. The functions of the reduced staff at Boeing are set to be outsourced in early June 2023 to Bengaluru-based Indian company Tata Consulting Services, only about a third of those jobs.

The statement was made a month after in December 2022, the corporation announced its intention to hire 10 thousand employees in 2023 in production units to supplement the 15 thousand that were hired in 2022.^[9]

2022

Payment of $200 million for lying about aircraft safety after two plane crashes due to defective software

At the end of September 2022, Boeing agreed to pay the US authorities $200 million to resolve the conflict over allegations that the corporation misled investors about the safety of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

Boeing and Muilenburg put profits ahead of people's profits, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said, misleading investors about the safety of the Boeing 737 Max in an attempt to restore the corporation's image after the crashes. At the same time, the company noted that they did a lot of research to make this model of the aircraft better and safer.

In addition, former Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg must pay $1 million for the same reason. Muilenburg was suspended in December 2019 months after the second plane crash with this model aircraft.

{{quote 'In times of crisis and tragedy, it is especially important that public companies and executives provide the market with complete, honest and truthful information! Boeing and Muilenburg did not fulfill this basic obligation due to their negligence, and also violated the provisions of federal securities legislation aimed at combating fraud, said SEC specialist Gary Gensler. }} The Boeing 737 Max model has come under heavy criticism since two crashes in early 2022 that killed 346 people. In 2018, a Boeing 737 Max crashed in Indonesia, at the same time 189 people died. Following that crash, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said problems with sensors that could have led to the crash could have occurred on 246 other production aircraft. On March 10, 2019, another Boeing 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia. As a result, all 157 crew members and passengers were killed, including three Russians. After the disaster, flights of aircraft of this model were banned in Russia, the United States and EU countries. The SEC stressed that both planes in Indonesia and Ethiopia were put into service just months before the crash.^[10]

China's sanctions on Boeing Defense chief over arms supplies to Taiwan

In September 2022, China announced that it was imposing sanctions on the heads of Raytheon Technologies and Boeing Defense due to arms sales to Taiwan.

Disruption of the deadlines for the construction of aircraft for the President of the United States due to drunkenness of workers

The construction of two new aircraft for the US president, Air Force One, is being delayed due to production problems, violations of regulations and, possibly, alcohol consumption in the workplace by Boeing Co., The Wall Street Journal reported in April 2022.

Plane crash in China

On March 21, 2022, a China Eastern Airlines Boeing 737 passenger airliner crashed in China. Earlier in 2018 and 2019, the company's newest 737 MAX jetliners crashed due to technical problems in Indonesia and Ethiopia.

Suspension of titanium purchases in Russia

American Boeing suspended the purchase of titanium Russia in amid a special operation by the Russian Armed Forces on. To Ukraine The aviation concern receives from Russia a third of the titanium necessary for the production of aircraft and develops a joint venture with a Russian manufacturer of titanium products. Previously, these sanctions were not imposed due to mutual damage.

Investing $450 million in flying car developer Wisk

On January 24, 2022, Boeing announced that it would invest $450 million in Wisk, which is developing a small unmanned air transport for short passenger flights in cities and beyond. Read more here.

2021: Airbus remains biggest planemaker for third year in a row

Airbus remains the largest aircraft manufacturer for the third year in a row. This became known on January 10, 2022, when the company published data on the supply of liners for 2021. If Airbus was ahead of the main competitor in the number of aircraft delivered to customers, then Boeing took the first place in terms of the volume of orders. The latter in 2021 received orders for the production of 909 aircraft, which is 17.9% more than a year earlier, and Airbus had a total of 771 orders. Read more here.

2020

Cutting 7,000 staff

In October 2020, Boeing said:

• We see that passenger traffic will return to the level of 2019 in 3 years.

• We are cutting jobs and we will see 130,000 employees by the end of the year.

• We plan to reduce additional staff by 7,000 people.

Dismissal of 12.5 thousand employees

At the end of May 2020, it became known that Boeing is cutting more than 12.5 thousand jobs due to the collapse of the aviation market. One of the world's largest aircraft manufacturers is laying off 6,770 workers in the United States, and another 5,520 workers agree to receive compensation to voluntarily leave in the coming weeks.

Air transportation to the United States in April 2020 fell by 96% compared to the same period in 2019. The Transportation Security Administration said 264,843 people were screened at airports on one day, down 89% from the same day a year ago.

Boeing said that the announced liquidation of work positions will be the largest in the history of the company, but in the next few months the giant plans to cut several thousand more additional jobs.

The layoffs are expected to be concentrated in the Seattle area, home to Boeing's commercial jets. According to company representatives, the defense and space division continues to operate steadily and will help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the form of a reduction in air transportation and demand for passenger aircraft. A Boeing spokesman said additional cuts would take place in international divisions, but did not specify the volumes of layoffs.

The devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation industry means a sudden reduction in the number of commercial aircraft and services that our customers will need over the next few years, which in turn means a reduction in jobs on our airlines and in our offices, "Chief Executive David Calhoun explained to employees. He also warned that Boeing will have to constantly adjust business plans because the pandemic makes it difficult to predict the future.[11]

Another decrease in the number of personnel due to coronavirus

At the end of April 2020, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told employees that the company is reducing its workforce by about 10% amid a sharp drop in demand due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

We tried our best to save jobs, avoid layoffs even though the Boeing 737 MAX was discontinued. But another reduction in production and the COVID-19 pandemic are forcing us to reduce our staff. We have begun to take appropriate action, and the staff will soon be reduced by approximately 10% through voluntary and involuntary layoffs, as well as state reorganization, "Calhoun said.

Boeing is the largest American planemaker, and the company employed about 160,000 people worldwide at the end of April. According to the head of the corporation, the pandemic has had an extremely negative impact on the air transportation industry, so Boeing is forced to halve the production of some aircraft models, including airliners of the 777 and 787 families. Before the pandemic, Boeing planned to resume production of 737 MAX aircraft, but is forced to slow down the pace of recovery.

Even more serious reductions will occur in those areas that are most dependent on our commercial customers - more than 15% of employees working on commercial aircraft and in the service sector, as well as in functional units, will be laid off, "Calhoun explained.

Turning to employees in the video, Calhoun stressed:

Rest assured that we will do everything in our power to minimize the negative impact of the pandemic on our activities, and when the cuts begin, we will try to carry them out with the utmost honesty, transparency and absolute respect for our employees.[12]

Reduction of 10% of the state

On April 9, 2020, it became known about the reduction of 10% of Boeing personnel. The aerospace giant is forced to lay off employees in order to optimize costs in the context of the crisis in which the company found itself due to the recall of aircraft and falling sales amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

As a result of the planned personnel purge, about 15 thousand people will be fired. Boeing will offer early retirement and compensation payments to these employees. Their size has not been reported.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the company is cutting its staff to minimize the negative consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. The lion's share of liquidated work positions will affect the civil aircraft business, where the corporation has long been in trouble due to the suspension of the 737 MAX.

Boeing has racked up a lot of debt due to production downtime, payment for parking of planes that buyers have abandoned, as well as multimillion-dollar claims from victims of two plane crashes with ill-fated airliners. The crisis in the aviation industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic has hit an already suffocating company. Nevertheless, when the Donald Trump administration said it was ready to support American manufacturers, but at the same time expects to buy certain blocks of their shares, Boeing said that they did not need such support.

The WSJ notes that by April 9, 2020, there is no clarity on whether employees of Boeing's defense division will be fired.

Boeing's staff is approximately 160 thousand, of which almost 65 thousand people are engaged in the creation of commercial aircraft, and another 25 thousand are involved in the unit supplying aviation parts, as well as various services to airlines.^[13]

2019

First annual losses in 22 years

In 2019, Boeing's revenue reached $76.56 billion, down 24% year-on-year at $101.13 billion. The portfolio of outstanding orders, including more than 5.4 thousand passenger aircraft, turned out to be equal to $463 billion.

Boeing received its first annual loss in 22 years due to crashes of aircraft with defective software. In 2019, the company's net losses amounted to $636 million, while in 2018 net profit was measured at $10.46 billion. The total amount of write-offs due to problems with the Boeing 737 MAX, including compensation to customers, reached $9.2 billion at the end of 2019.

Boeing also said that its losses due to problems with the 737 MAX rose to $18.6 billion, that is, they turned out to be twice as much as previously reported: this includes both a decrease in profits and costs due to the cessation of production and payments to airlines.

Boeing CEO David Calhoun, at a conference on the publication of financial statements, said he was confident that the 737 MAX airliners would enter service again, despite repeated delays in obtaining regulatory certificates. According to the head of the aviation concern, the current business portfolio will allow Boeing to provide financial liquidity until the safe operation of the airliner is resumed.

In 2019, Boeing delivered 380 commercial aircraft, which is 53% less than a year earlier, and earned $32.26 billion (a decrease of 44%). Losses from this business reached $6.66 billion, while in 2018 commercial liners brought the manufacturer a profit of $7.83 billion.

The Defense, Space & Security division registered annual revenue at $26.23 billion, which is 1% less than in 2018. Turnover in the direction of Global Services increased by 8% to $18.47 billion.^[14]

David Calhoun is Boeing's new CEO

On December 23, 2019, Boeing announced the resignation of Dennis Muilenburg as CEO. David Calhoun, the former head of Nielsen and GE Infrastructure and a Boeing board member, will take his place. He will also become president of Boeing. Read more here.

Boeing has created a company to control flights using blockchain and artificial intelligence

In early December 2019, the Federal USA Aviation Administration (FAA) granted SkyGrid permission to obtain information about unmanned aerial vehicles. More. here

Pilots of crashed Boeing 737 MAX trained on iPad

In March 2019, it became known about the weak training of pilots before the start of control of the Boeing 737 MAX. Instead of expensive simulators, they used only an application in the iPad. Read more here.

Worst quarterly results

In August 2019 Boeing , it reported its worst quarterly losses amid rising costs due to its 737 Max flagship. The loss was 2.9 billion and dollars the stock fell 3.1 percent. Revenue plummeted to $15.8 billion.

2017: Investment in unmanned aircraft developer Near Earth Autonomy

In October 2017, Boeing announced an investment in the American company Near Earth Autonomy. We are talking about the first investment of Boeing's venture capital division HorizonX in a developer of technologies for unmanned aircraft. Read more here.

1988: Failure of the roof of a passenger plane during flight

The Aloha Airlines Boeing 737-297 airliner operated domestic flight AQ 243 on the Hilo-Honolulu route, and had 6 crew members and 89 passengers on board. But 23 minutes after takeoff, a significant part of the fuselage structure in the nose suddenly tore off the plane, as a result of which passengers and flight attendants were exposed to an incoming stream of air and oxygen starvation, one flight attendant died. The pilots safely landed the plane at Maui Island's Kahului Airport. 94 people survived, 65 of them were injured.

The final report of the investigation was published on April 14, 1989.

According to the report, the causes of the accident were:

• metal corrosion,
• poor epoxy bond of fuselage parts,
• rivet fatigue,
• damage to the fuselage metal (due to many take-off and landing cycles; the plane made only short flights).

1985:520 killed in Boeing 747 crash in Japan

A major aviation accident, occurred on August 12, 1985, became one of the largest in the world. The Boeing 747 airliner made a domestic flight on the Tokyo-Osaka route, but 12 minutes after takeoff it lost its vertical tail stabilizer. The crew kept the unmanaged aircraft in the air for 32 minutes, but it crashed into Mount Otsutaka, 112 kilometers from Tokyo. Of the 524 people on board, only 4 survived.

1971: Boeing 2707 - Supersonic Passenger Aircraft Project

It was assumed that the ​​Boeing 2707 aircraft will have a cruising flight speed of 2.7 Mach (2900 km/h) with a range of up to 6740 km and a passenger capacity of up to 300 people.

Spending on the lunar program and the Vietnam War played a role in the U.S. Senate withholding further funding for the program.

By the time the program was terminated, Boeing had received 115 orders for the future aircraft.

1957

1944: Combat Aircraft Production

Notes