Boeing mulls wide-body jet cuts, plans buyouts

Bloomberg

Boeing Co is offering employee buyouts and weighing additional savings measures such as new output cuts, as the coronavirus pandemic threatens to depress aircraft sales for years.
While the company has yet to alter production plans, it’s taking a closer look at manufacturing rates for wide-body jets amid plunging demand, said a person familiar with the matter. Boeing was already planning to make fewer 787 Dreamliners this year, and is still assessing the rapidly changing market and public health issues as the outbreak guts travel demand and batters airlines.
“When the world emerges from the pandemic, the size of the commercial market and the types of products and services our customers want and need will likely be different,” CEO David Calhoun said in a message to Boeing’s 161,000 employees. “It’s important we start adjusting to our new reality now.”
The move will preserve much-needed cash at Boeing, which along with European rival Airbus SE is facing a sharp contraction in the jetliner market.