Boeing (BA -2.14%) has reportedly sold a corporate yacht it once used to entertain corporate customers, a fresh sign of the belt tightening going on at the struggling aerospace giant.
The Daedalus, a 130-foot yacht usually moored on Seattle's Lake Union, was sold for $13 million to a California developer, according to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal. In years past, the Daedalus often spent its summers in and around Vancouver Island, used by Boeing sales teams to host airline customers for fishing trips and other outings.
Image source: Boeing.
But Boeing has fallen on hard times of late, with its massive commercial aerospace operations hit by a one-two punch of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing issues with its 737 MAX airplane. The company has bled through more than $15 billion in cash this year and has predicted it will take years for airlines to recover from the pandemic and resume growth plans.
Boeing, in response to the pandemic, has slashed its 10-year demand forecast, is cutting 30,000 jobs, and is taking other steps to cut costs. The yacht appears to be another piece of the cost cutting puzzle.
Though holding on to a yacht while laying off thousands would be a bad look, getting rid of the boat is likely not without consequences. Airline buyers expect a certain level of treatment when contemplating nine-figure purchase orders, and without the Daedalus, Boeing's sales team will have to come up with new ways to woo buyers.
