 "Cash-strapped Boeing's new CEO considering pawning off space division, exiting Nasa deals")
Boeing is considering selling its space division, which includes its troubled Starliner spacecraft program, as the company’s new CEO evaluates options to bolster the company’s finances, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday (October 25), citing sources familiar with the matter.
Boeing’s newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Kelly Ortberg, who joined the planemaker in August, told analysts during a Wednesday (October 23) earnings call that he is reassessing Boeing’s business with a view to simplifying its operations.
‘Doing less’ but better
Boeing is better off “doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well,” Ortberg said Wednesday during an earnings conference call with analysts.
Although Ortberg did not explicitly signal a reduction in Boeing’s space activities, he said that commercial aircraft and defence remain core to Boeing’s long-term strategy.
The earnings call came on the heels of Boeing’s $6.2 billion quarterly loss, which was attributed in part to a labour strike in Seattle that forced two assembly plants to shut down for six weeks. In addition, Boeing’s machinist union rejected the company’s latest contract proposal on Wednesday, further clouding Boeing’s outlook, an AFP report said.
Boeing has long been a contractor for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), but its space program has faced recent setbacks.
After years of delays, Starliner launched in June on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), only to be halted by unexpected thruster issues and helium leaks that led to two astronauts, including Sunita Williams, getting stranded on the ISS.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsFollowing the malfunctions, Nasa opted to return two astronauts via SpaceX, concluding in September that it would be safer than relying on Boeing’s craft. That decision was a global embarrassment for Boeing, which is separately getting flak for recurring safety issues in the civil aviation aircraft it makes.
With inputs from agencies
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