Boeing stock (BA) hovered near 52-week lows on Tuesday as the aircraft maker looked to strike a deal as soon as possible with its largest union on strike while at the same time cutting costs to preserve cash.
On Tuesday, Boeing shares rose to around $157 each, just $3 off its recent lows.
The Arlington, Va.-based company is faced with a machinist union strike over wage increases that started last Friday. Critically for the company, it’s halted production of its bestselling 737 Max.
The timing and length of the strike could put the company’s recovery at stake as its new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, tries to firmly put behind its recent production missteps.
“They have a lot of pressure to get their assembly line in good order. And the strike interferes with that and delays any progress they were making on basically decertifying their assembly process for planes like the 737,” Morningstar equity analyst Nicolas Owens told Yahoo Finance on Wednesday.
A source familiar with the negotiations told Yahoo Finance both sides were meeting in person on Tuesday with a mediator to help facilitate the talks.
Boeing is “ready to hammer out an agreement,” and Tuesday was the earliest the union was able to meet, according to the source.
At the same time, the company laid out aggressive cost-cutting measures on Tuesday, which included a hiring freeze. The company is also considering temporary furloughs for many employees in the coming weeks.
While Moody’s recently placed Boeing’s credit rating under review, S&P Global said its status is safe for now, provided the strike is short-lived, which many Wall Street analysts expect it will be.
“A shorter strike, on the order of weeks, would likely be manageable for Boeing and not lead to a negative rating action. However, we believe an extended strike would be costly and difficult to absorb, given the company’s already strained financial position,” said S&P said in a statement this week.
The aircraft manufacturing giant has been navigating a terrible year, starting in early January when the fuselage of a 737 Max 9 ripped open at 16,000 feet during an Alaska Airlines (ALK) flight.
The incident led to a series of regulatory problems, investigations, lawsuits, production delays, a CEO replacement, and a tumbling stock price.
Last month Ortberg, an aerospace industry veteran and Boeing outsider, took over the top job at the company.
At the Morgan Stanley Laguna Conference last Friday, CFO Brian West noted “good momentum” prior to the strike, with “ramping production, while at the same time, incorporating significant improvements” into the manufacturer’s quality and production system.
Boeing shares are down more than 35% year to date. They touched a 52-week low on Monday. The company is expected to report quarterly results next month.
Ines Ferre is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X at @ines_ferre.
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