Troubles abound, Boeing losses bloom to $2.4 billion in 2Q

Boeing losses reached $2.4 billion in the second quarter and the company will slow production and cut more jobs as demand for commercial aircraft withers in the pandemic.

The losses were far worse than Wall Street expected, as was the decline in revenue, which fell 25%.

“The reality is the pandemic’s impact on the aviation sector continues to be severe," CEO David Calhoun said. “This pressure on our commercial customers means they are delaying jet purchases, slowing deliveries, deferring elective maintenance, retiring older aircraft and reducing spend — all of which affects our business and, ultimately, our bottom line.”

Calhoun said it will take around three years to return to 2019 passenger levels. On Tuesday, an airline industry trade group said air travel won’t recover to pre-pandemic levels until at least 2024, a year longer than its previous forecast. The International Air Transport Association cited the inability of the United States and developing countries to contain the coronavirus.

With interest from airlines in new planes fading, Boeing said Wednesday it will slow its production of the 787 and 777 models, push back an increase in 737 Max output, and delay the introduction of a new big plane, the 777X, by a year until 2022. It will stop building the cargo-carrying version of its iconic 747 jumbo jet in 2022.

The company said it is still carrying out layoffs outlined earlier this year, and Calhoun said Wednesday that the reduction in airplane production and lower airline demand for Boeing services “means we'll have to further assess the size of our workforce.” Boeing said in April it would reduce its workforce by 10%, or about 16,000 jobs.

So far this year, Boeing deliveries of new airliners — a critical source of cash for the Chicago company — are down 71%. Boeing recorded 59 orders,...