波音公司(The Boeing Company)正處于水深火熱之中。只要問問上周在拒絕最新合同后罷工的3.3萬名工會工人就知道情況了。誠然,也可以讀一讀鋪天蓋地的報道:波音飛機(災(zāi)難性的737 Max機型)出現(xiàn)令人匪夷所思的故障而停飛。在公司內(nèi)部,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者們正努力止血。
周一,波音公司首席財務(wù)官布萊恩·韋斯特(Brian West)向員工發(fā)送了一份備忘錄,詳細(xì)介紹了削減成本和實現(xiàn)生存的計劃。行業(yè)刊物The Air Current主編喬恩·奧斯特羅爾(Jon Ostrower)在推特(Twitter)/X上分享了這份備忘錄,詳細(xì)介紹了韋斯特在波音應(yīng)對近期巨額虧損之際削減損失的嘗試。
韋斯特寫道:“我們的業(yè)務(wù)正處于困難時期,” 并補充說,罷工“嚴(yán)重危及我們的復(fù)蘇”。因此,為了保存現(xiàn)金和“保障”公司的未來,公司已進入成本節(jié)約模式。
新的削減措施包括在全公司范圍內(nèi)凍結(jié)招聘、暫停加薪和晉升、停止任何非必要的旅行、暫停所有慈善或市場營銷和廣告支出、停止提供餐飲服務(wù)以及暫停外出活動。此外,高管也不再乘坐頭等艙或商務(wù)艙(但沒有提及是否仍允許乘坐私人飛機)。
此外,韋斯特還表示,波音公司將大幅削減供應(yīng)商支出,并削減737 Max、767和777的大部分訂單。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層正在“考慮采取艱難舉措,如讓眾多員工暫時休假”。
這些步驟中的每一步都是這家陷入困境的公司的孤注一擲?!敦敻弧冯s志的肖恩·塔利(Shawn Tully)報道稱:“2024年上半年,波音公司的自由現(xiàn)金流損失了83億美元。9月13日,工會投‘反對票’的消息使其股價暴跌近5.7%,收于158美元左右,為2024年以來的最低水平,比年初的價格低三分之一。”此外,據(jù)報道,評級機構(gòu)正在考慮將波音公司的債務(wù)評級降至垃圾級。
航空咨詢公司Darcy Strategic的創(chuàng)始人詹姆斯·達(dá)西(James Darcy)告訴《財富》雜志,要保護波音公司的信用評級,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者必須改善其現(xiàn)金流。為了改善現(xiàn)金流,波音公司必須更快地交付更多飛機。達(dá)西說,如果不結(jié)束罷工,就“不可能”做到這一點?!叭欢?,他們可能需要同意解決罷工問題的條款,而這些條款從長遠(yuǎn)來看對他們的現(xiàn)金流毫無幫助?!?
上個月,在長期擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官的大衛(wèi)·卡爾霍恩(Dave Calhoun)離職后,已退休的凱利·奧特伯格(Kelly Ortberg)再度復(fù)出,試圖扭轉(zhuǎn)局面。他剛買了一套價值410萬美元的住宅。
韋斯特上周五發(fā)表的言論被《西雅圖時報》稱為“明顯的和解”,他說波音公司領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人希望與機械師工會“回到談判桌前,以達(dá)成協(xié)議”。他補充說,奧特伯格親自參與了這項工作。
達(dá)西說:“波音員工目前對公司的影響力是前所未有的,但讓波音屈服肯定不符合他們的長期最佳利益。波音需要以一種過去從未表現(xiàn)出的謙遜態(tài)度來對待談判,但如果雙方都想有健康的未來,勞方也需要保持高度的務(wù)實精神。”
Thrive HR Consulting創(chuàng)始人杰森·沃克(Jason Walker)告訴《財富》雜志記者謝麗爾·埃斯特拉達(dá)(Sheryl Estrada):“韋斯特在內(nèi)部備忘錄中概述的這些舉措是‘能夠影響利潤的即時現(xiàn)金節(jié)約措施’。當(dāng)你擔(dān)心手頭的現(xiàn)金量時,這是一種相當(dāng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的做法?!?/p>
另一方面,裁員的力度可能會進一步削弱員工對公司的看法。沃克告訴埃斯特拉達(dá):“這只會讓情況變得更糟。我認(rèn)為,[波音]確實陷入了自找的死亡漩渦?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
波音公司(The Boeing Company)正處于水深火熱之中。只要問問上周在拒絕最新合同后罷工的3.3萬名工會工人就知道情況了。誠然,也可以讀一讀鋪天蓋地的報道:波音飛機(災(zāi)難性的737 Max機型)出現(xiàn)令人匪夷所思的故障而停飛。在公司內(nèi)部,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者們正努力止血。
周一,波音公司首席財務(wù)官布萊恩·韋斯特(Brian West)向員工發(fā)送了一份備忘錄,詳細(xì)介紹了削減成本和實現(xiàn)生存的計劃。行業(yè)刊物The Air Current主編喬恩·奧斯特羅爾(Jon Ostrower)在推特(Twitter)/X上分享了這份備忘錄,詳細(xì)介紹了韋斯特在波音應(yīng)對近期巨額虧損之際削減損失的嘗試。
韋斯特寫道:“我們的業(yè)務(wù)正處于困難時期,” 并補充說,罷工“嚴(yán)重危及我們的復(fù)蘇”。因此,為了保存現(xiàn)金和“保障”公司的未來,公司已進入成本節(jié)約模式。
新的削減措施包括在全公司范圍內(nèi)凍結(jié)招聘、暫停加薪和晉升、停止任何非必要的旅行、暫停所有慈善或市場營銷和廣告支出、停止提供餐飲服務(wù)以及暫停外出活動。此外,高管也不再乘坐頭等艙或商務(wù)艙(但沒有提及是否仍允許乘坐私人飛機)。
此外,韋斯特還表示,波音公司將大幅削減供應(yīng)商支出,并削減737 Max、767和777的大部分訂單。領(lǐng)導(dǎo)層正在“考慮采取艱難舉措,如讓眾多員工暫時休假”。
這些步驟中的每一步都是這家陷入困境的公司的孤注一擲?!敦敻弧冯s志的肖恩·塔利(Shawn Tully)報道稱:“2024年上半年,波音公司的自由現(xiàn)金流損失了83億美元。9月13日,工會投‘反對票’的消息使其股價暴跌近5.7%,收于158美元左右,為2024年以來的最低水平,比年初的價格低三分之一?!贝送?,據(jù)報道,評級機構(gòu)正在考慮將波音公司的債務(wù)評級降至垃圾級。
航空咨詢公司Darcy Strategic的創(chuàng)始人詹姆斯·達(dá)西(James Darcy)告訴《財富》雜志,要保護波音公司的信用評級,領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者必須改善其現(xiàn)金流。為了改善現(xiàn)金流,波音公司必須更快地交付更多飛機。達(dá)西說,如果不結(jié)束罷工,就“不可能”做到這一點。“然而,他們可能需要同意解決罷工問題的條款,而這些條款從長遠(yuǎn)來看對他們的現(xiàn)金流毫無幫助?!?
上個月,在長期擔(dān)任首席執(zhí)行官的大衛(wèi)·卡爾霍恩(Dave Calhoun)離職后,已退休的凱利·奧特伯格(Kelly Ortberg)再度復(fù)出,試圖扭轉(zhuǎn)局面。他剛買了一套價值410萬美元的住宅。
韋斯特上周五發(fā)表的言論被《西雅圖時報》稱為“明顯的和解”,他說波音公司領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人希望與機械師工會“回到談判桌前,以達(dá)成協(xié)議”。他補充說,奧特伯格親自參與了這項工作。
達(dá)西說:“波音員工目前對公司的影響力是前所未有的,但讓波音屈服肯定不符合他們的長期最佳利益。波音需要以一種過去從未表現(xiàn)出的謙遜態(tài)度來對待談判,但如果雙方都想有健康的未來,勞方也需要保持高度的務(wù)實精神?!?/p>
Thrive HR Consulting創(chuàng)始人杰森·沃克(Jason Walker)告訴《財富》雜志記者謝麗爾·埃斯特拉達(dá)(Sheryl Estrada):“韋斯特在內(nèi)部備忘錄中概述的這些舉措是‘能夠影響利潤的即時現(xiàn)金節(jié)約措施’。當(dāng)你擔(dān)心手頭的現(xiàn)金量時,這是一種相當(dāng)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的做法?!?/p>
另一方面,裁員的力度可能會進一步削弱員工對公司的看法。沃克告訴埃斯特拉達(dá):“這只會讓情況變得更糟。我認(rèn)為,[波音]確實陷入了自找的死亡漩渦。”(財富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
Things are in dire straits at The Boeing Company. Just ask the 33,000 unionized workers who walked off the job last week after rejecting the latest contract. Or, of course, read the barrage of reports of mind-boggling malfunctions grounding its planes, namely its disastrous 737 Max. Internally, leaders are scrambling to stanch the bleeding.
On Monday, Boeing CFO Brian West sent a memo to employees detailing the plan for cost-cutting and survival. The memo, shared on Twitter/X by Jon Ostrower, editor-in-chief of trade publication The Air Current, details West’s attempts at cutting losses as Boeing grapples with the avalanche of recent losses.
“Our business is in a difficult period,” West wrote, adding the strike “jeopardizes our recovery in a significant way.” As such, to preserve cash and “safeguard” the company’s future, it’s in cost-saving mode.
On that list of new cutbacks are a company-wide hiring freeze, a pause in raises and promotions, halting any non-essential travel, pausing all charitable or marketing and advertising spend, ending catered meals, and pausing offsites. Also, no more first-class or business-class air travel for the C-suite (though no mention was made of whether private jets are still allowed.)
To boot, West said the manufacturer will significantly reduce its supplier spending and cut off most of its orders for 737 Max, 767 and 777 purchases. And leadership is “considering the difficult step of temporary furloughs” for many workers.
Each of these steps represent a hail mary for the embattled company. “In the first half of 2024, Boeing bled $8.3 billion in free cash flow,” Fortune’s Shawn Tully reported. “News of the [union’s] ‘no’ vote pounded its stock by almost 5.7% on Sept. 13, its shares closed around $158, their lowest level for 2024, and one-third below its price at the year’s start.” Plus, rating agencies are reportedly mulling the choice to downgrade Boeing’s debt to junk.
To protect Boeing’s credit rating, leaders must improve its cash flow, James Darcy, founder of aerospace advisory firm Darcy Strategic, told Fortune. To improve cash flow, it has to deliver more planes, faster. That’s “impossible” to do without ending the strike, Darcy said. “Yet the terms on which they may need to agree to settle the strike will do nothing to help their cash flow in the long term.”
Last month, following longtime CEO Dave Calhoun’s departure, Kelly Ortberg emerged from retirement to attempt to right the ship. He just bought a $4.1 million house.
In remarks that the Seattle Times called “notably conciliatory” on Friday, West said Boeing leaders want “to get back to the table and to hammer out a deal” with the Machinists union. Ortberg is personally engaged in that effort, he added.
“The amount of leverage that Boeing’s workers have over the company at this moment is unprecedented, but bringing Boeing to its knees is certainly not in their long-term best interest,” Darcy said. “Boeing will need to approach negotiations with a degree of humility that they haven’t shown in the past, but the labor side will need to retain a great deal of pragmatism if both sides are to have a healthy future.”
The kinds of moves West outlined in the internal memo are “immediate cash-saving measures that will impact the bottom line,” Jason Walker, founder of Thrive HR Consulting, told Fortune’s Sheryl Estrada. “This is a pretty standard approach when you are worried about the amount of cash you are going to have on hand.”
On the other hand, the intensity of these cutbacks might stand to further dampen workers’ views of the company. “This is just going to make it worse,” Walker told Estrada. “I think [Boeing is] really in a death spiral of [its] own making.”