Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg has unveiled a four-point strategy to turn around the troubled US plane maker's fortunes after its losses nearly quadrupled to more than $6 billion in the third quarter, and as it awaits the crucial vote of its disgruntled union workers.
Mr Ortberg, in a bid to “turn this big ship in the right direction”, said that the Virginia-based company would need to implement a “fundamental culture change”, stabilise its business, improve its execution discipline and “build a new future”.
In a statement on Wednesday, he also acknowledged that Boeing “was once a benchmark for what good culture looks like” and said he believed "we can return to that legacy”.
“I know culture change starts at the top. Our leaders, from me on down, need to be closely integrated with our business and the people who are doing the design and production of our products,” he said.
In the three months to the end of September, Boeing posted a net loss of more than $6.17 billion, a 277 per cent year-on-year spike compared to the $1.64 billion loss in the corresponding period last year. Revenue dropped about 1.5 per cent annually to $17.84 billion.
Through the first nine months of 2024, Boeing has lost nearly $8 billion, against $2.2 billion in the same period last year, while revenue has declined 8 per cent to $51.28 billion. The company has a total backlog of $511 billion, including more than 5,400 commercial aircraft, it said.
Boeing’s stock was trading 2.63 per cent down at $155.67 a share at 8.30pm UAE time (12.30pm New York time) giving the company a market capitalisation of $95.94 billion. The stock is down 38.17 per cent since the start of the year.
“Clearly, we are at a crossroads: the trust in our company has eroded, we’re saddled with too much debt and we’ve had serious lapses in our performance across the company which have disappointed many of our customers,” Mr Ortberg said. “So, my mission here is pretty straightforward … restore Boeing to the leadership position that we all know and want.”
Boeing has endured a turbulent year, embroiled in a safety and quality crisis after a door panel blew out mid-air on a 737 Max jet in January, which prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to revamp its oversight process.
Earlier this month, Boeing said it will slash 17,000 jobs, or about 10 per cent of its global workforce, and delay the first delivery of its 777X jet by one year, pushing back its largest wide-body aircraft by about six years.
The delay prompted Tim Clark, president of Dubai's Emirates airline, to say last week that the airline will have a “serious conversation” with Boeing in the next two months.
The third-quarter results also came before a much-anticipated vote by Boeing's union workers, also on Wednesday, who will decide whether to accept a new contract offer or carry on with their strike that has hit the company's finances and operations. However, the strike, which has lasted for six weeks, has not affected the production of 787 aircraft.
Mr Ortberg was named chief executive of Boeing in early August, and said he had, in his first week at the helm, met leaders of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers to “let them know that I was committed to resetting the relationship”.
“We have been feverishly working to find a solution that works for the company and meets our employees' needs … and I remain committed to getting the team back and improving our relationship, so we don’t become so disconnected in the future,” he said.
Mr Ortberg was optimistic that Boeing's offer package will bring employees back to work, “so we can immediately focus on restoring the company” and restart its factories and supply chain.
Some of aviation's biggest players remain confident in Boeing. This week, Emirates ordered five 777F freighters that will boost capacity to meet “strong” demand.
Last month, a senior Riyadh Air executive said Boeing's continuing troubles were not affecting its chances in the race against its European rival Airbus for a narrow-body aircraft order from the Saudi Arabian start-up carrier.
