The fallout begins from the strike at struggling aerospace stock Boeing (BA), where furloughs are firing up and people are losing jobs, if only temporarily perhaps. The news gave shareholders a bit of hope that their investment might not be in vain, and BA shares perked up fractionally in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
“Thousands” of staffers, from executives down to managers and “other staff” are all on the block, as Boeing finds itself with little to do and no one actually doing the work that remains. The mission of Boeing has shifted to saving cash, and it stepped up to show large portions of its non-striking staff the door.
The current plan, according to a memo direct from new CEO Robert “Kelly” Ortberg, calls for staff to take a week of furlough every four weeks for however long the strike goes. Meanwhile, while Ortberg and his staff would remain on the job, they would take “commensurate” pay cuts throughout the strike. This accompanies earlier plans to halt hiring and shut down any planned raises. “Non-essential contractors” were also removed, if only temporarily.
It’s Getting Tense Out There
So while people are losing their jobs, including people who are not in a union to begin with, the union part is getting tense as well. Reports from KOMO News noted that, on Monday, a security guard pulled a gun on a group of strikers out at the company’s distribution center.
The strikers had, reports noted, blocked access to the distribution center, and while trying to leave the property, the security guard drew his gun. Boeing did not take this lying down, however, and ultimately fired the security guard as well. Boeing declared that “…we respect our employees’ right to picket peacefully and believe everyone should feel safe.” Though one wonders just how safe that security guard felt….
Is Boeing a Buy, Sell or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on BA stock based on 15 Buys, four Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 23.33% loss in its share price over the past year, the average BA price target of $213.95 per share implies 36.07% upside potential.
