There are a million opinions on Boeing and what it should do, but the simple reality today is that 96% of its workforce is on strike, its share price fell nearly 4% on Friday, it has $45 million in net debt and is burning through about $1.5 billion in cash every month. More than 30,000 workers walked out the door on Thursday, just hours after a vote rejected Boeing's offer, and yet it appears the earliest the two parties could get together is Tuesday.
Boeing cannot afford a prolonged strike In the wake of the walkout, Boeing shares fell by 3.69% to a near-two-year low, and its credit ratings are already just one notch above junk status. On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that debt-ratings firms are warning a prolonged strike would prompt them to downgrade Boeing's debt, significantly increasing annual interest payments.
Ratings firm Moodys cited cash-flow concerns in placing all of Boeing's credit ratings on review for possible downgrades . Boeing's net debt is more than $45 billion, and the WSJ reported that a credit rating downgrade would add an extra $100 million in annual interest payments on top of the $2 billion in interest paid in the past year. Boeing's trouble just got worse when more than 30,000 employees voted to go on strike from midnight.
On Friday, it was estimated that a 30-day strike could cost Boeing $1.5 billion, whereas the tentative deal's financial impact would have been $900 million annually if it had been passed. On the same day, Boeing chief f.