The US aircraft manufacturer Boeing is planning to sell assets. An agreement has already been reached to sell a defense unit.
Boeing has reached an agreement to sell a small defense unit that makes surveillance equipment for the US military. The Wall Street Journal reported this on Sunday, citing people familiar with the deal. New Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg asked department heads in recent meetings to explain the value of their units.
The aircraft manufacturer is in a difficult situation this year. In January, part of the cabin wall of a Boeing 737 MAX came loose during the flight, which led to increased pressure on the board of directors and ultimately led to a change at the top of the company. In addition, around 33,000 unionized employees have been on strike since September 13th.
A preliminary agreement was reached in the collective bargaining dispute: A new proposal provides for a wage increase of 35 percent over four years and will be presented to the striking employees for a vote on Wednesday. According to experts, the strike is costing Boeing about a billion dollars a month. It is currently unclear whether the employees will accept the offer.
The management consultancy Anderson Economic Group estimated the costs caused by the strike on Friday at 7.6 billion dollars (seven billion euros), including 4.35 billion dollars (four billion euros) for Boeing alone.
The union continues to demand a wage increase of 40 percent over four years and further improvements. An initial offer from Boeing for 25 percent was rejected. Almost a week ago, Boeing also announced that it would cut ten percent of its workforce, which corresponds to around 17,000 jobs.