Is it time for the Boeing Company to throw
in the towel?
To cut its losses? To get out while it’s
ahead? To stop the bleeding? You can toss every cliché you want out there, but
it must have crossed the minds of management at some point. It does make you
wonder how much more is to come and how much more the venerable company can
take?
Ever since a door panel blew off a Boeing-manufactured
plane in mid-flight earlier this year, the company has been under heavy
scrutiny. Its safety protocols have been called into question. There is
currently a crippling strike in which Boeing is said to have lost $500 million
a week.
Now comes word of a disastrous
financial third quarter that will likely lead to layoffs.
And one key aspect of all of this is the
company’s struggle to get its reputation back. To win in the court of public
opinion.
Nobody would blame Boeing for gracefully
backing out.
Hemorrhaging Money
Now, Boeing does have a lot going for it. It
has a lot of sweat equity invested in the American public and in the industry
for its past successes. And remember that it is only one of two major companies
that produces commercial jets.
That’s a lot of goodwill.
But at some point, everything that has
gone on can be overwhelming. This is a business, after all. You can’t continue to lose
money like Boeing has done. And "losing" is probably being kind; hemorrhaging
is more like it.
Only Sean 'Diddy' Combs might be having a worse
public relations nightmare than Boeing right now.
Yes, there is a sense of being defeated
but Boeing has to consider all options right now. This is a critical time for
the company and new CEO Kelly Ortberg. Nobody wants to admit defeat, so perhaps
Boeing can just step back and regroup.
In other words, the company has to get
its s**t together.
Otherwise, throwing in the towel feels inevitable.
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