After 737 Max Crisis and Coronavirus, Can David Calhoun Save Boeing?

First Came the 737 Max Crisis, Then Coronavirus. Can David Calhoun Save Boeing? (excerpt)

When he was appointed Boeing’s CEO four months ago, David Calhoun’s mandate was to resurrect a company reeling from the 737 Max crisis. As the coronavirus grounds virtually all air travel, ravages the firm’s supply chain and upends the economy, the veteran corporate executive faces a situation far more dire: a catastrophe that threatens the survival of the 104-year-old aerospace and defense firm.

Since the pandemic spread to the United States, virtually every day has brought a cascade of bad news for Boeing. It’s been forced to shutter major manufacturing plants outside of Seattle, then Columbus, then Philadelphia, then Charleston, forcing the world’s largest aerospace company temporarily to halt all final assembly of commercial airplanes. There was a round of voluntary layoffs. Avalon, a plane leasing company, canceled an order of 737 Max jets worth $8.4 billion. Analysts predict other customers could delay or cancel orders.
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A board member, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, resigned in protest over the company’s request for what she called a government “bailout that prioritizes our company over others and relies on taxpayers to guarantee our financial position.” The stock price has slumped to $150 a share as of Thursday, from $440 a year ago.

As conditions deteriorate, Boeing pleaded for an emergency $60 billion infusion of cash from the federal government to save the broader aerospace industry and for the credit markets to open for suppliers.

“What’s the worst possible scenario?” said Ken Herbert, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity. “It’d be hard to write a script that is more detrimental than what they’re going through now.” (end of excerpt)

Click here for the full story, on the Washington Post website.

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