(Reuters) – Boeing
Boeing said it was sticking with its deeply reduced widebody production rates announced in July, as well as the goal to hit a build rate of 31 narrowbodies monthly in early 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has grounded air travel to a near halt, pushing major airlines to the brink of bankruptcy and forcing them to seek government aid, cut costs and defer aircraft deliveries.
As a result, Chicago-based Boeing has slashed production, shed thousands of jobs and shifted its jet development strategy, while working to emerge from the depths of the crisis and the 19-month-old worldwide ban of its 737 MAX jets triggered by two fatal accidents.
The company began a massive job-shedding campaign earlier this year and expects to cut 19,000 jobs by year-end out of the roughly 160,000 workers it had globally by end-2019.
The company’s free cash outflow rose to $5.08 billion in the quarter, from $2.89 billion, a year earlier, while total debt jumped to $61 billion, from $19.2 billion.
Excluding items, Boeing lost $1.39 per share in the third-quarter ended Sept. 30.
Revenue fell 29% to $14.14 billion.
(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
