Faced With Ongoing Labor Strike, Boeing Enters $10 Billion Credit Agreement With Banks

Boeing is shoring up its finances as a labor strike involving thousands of the manufacturer’s machinists wears on.

The company said today that it has entered a $10 billion agreement with a group of banks, according to a report from Reuters. The news comes at a time when Boeing has about $11.5 billion worth of debt maturing through February 1, 2026.
 
The embattled plane manufacturer’s many challenges have been intensified by the labor strike, which began in September. With machinists walking off their jobs, production of Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX planes has been forced to pause.

What’s more, Reuters reported that the strike is costing the company in excess of $1 billion per month, each month it drags on. This figure was released by Boeing as part of the plane maker’s announcement this month that it would be cutting 17,000 jobs from its payroll. The labor cuts amount to about 10 percent of Boeing’s global workforce.

Separately, as part of its third quarter preliminary results report, the company said it “expects to report third quarter revenue of $17.8 billion, GAAP loss per share of ($9.97), and operating cash flow of ($1.3) billion.”

In another statement issued by Boeing about its future, the company underscored the many hurdles it currently faces, stating: “Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together. Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”

Boeing has been struggling largely since the cabin-panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight (aboard a Boeing MAX) back in January, which triggered a series of ramifications for the company.  Among them, Boeing now must operate under a regulator-imposed limit on the number of MAX jets it can produce.

As for the labor strike, just last week Boeing filed an unfair labor practice charge against the union representing the workers.

The company claims the union has engaged in a "pattern of bad faith bargaining, and of issuing misinformation to its members about the status of negotiations."

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