A pilot works on a Super Hornet F / A-18F fighter jet, aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) while at sea on January 18, 2020 off the coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Mario Tama | fake pictures
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said Wednesday that he was confident that whoever wins the White House in November, be it President Donald Trump or former Vice President Joe Biden, will continue to support the defense industry.
“I think both candidates, at least in my opinion, seem to be globally oriented and interested in defending our country and I think they will support the industries,” Calhoun said in a media call. “They will do it in different ways and they will surely have different teams, but I don’t think we will take a position so that one is better than the other.”
The Trump administration, lawmakers, and political candidates are under increasing pressure to find ways to help the US through the coronavirus pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis.
Defense spending takes on new importance for the aerospace giant, one of the largest defense contractors in the United States, as its commercial aircraft unit recovers from the pandemic. The turmoil led Boeing to a loss of $ 2.4 billion in the second quarter, prompting further cuts to production of planes like the 787 and the possibility of job cuts beyond the roughly 19,000 people that, according to the company , abandon Boeing.
Boeing’s defense and space unit revenue changed little from the second quarter of last year to $ 6.6 billion, but sales at its commercial aircraft unit fell more than 65% year-over-year to $ 1.6 billion .
The trend has been echoed by other companies like Raytheon Technologies that have defense and commercial businesses.
“Overall, while the pandemic continues to profoundly impact our commercial aviation business, our balanced portfolio includes a resilient defense business that will help us offset the headwind aviation commercial trade,” CEO Greg Hayes said during an analyst call. on Tuesday.
The White House had no comment. Representatives of the Trump and Biden presidential campaigns did not immediately comment.
Defense contractors have good reason to worry. Across the country, incumbent Republicans are being dragged down by the president’s low approval ratings, despite efforts by some candidates to distance themselves from Trump’s positions. Still, most analysts now believe Democrats are well positioned to expand their majority in the House and, increasingly, to win the four net Senate seats they need to take control of the upper house.
Boeing’s Calhoun ruled out the possibility of an impact on the industry due to a possible change in Congress, saying lawmakers “tend to come together” on policies that support jobs.
Like many Fortune 100 companies whose bottom line is heavily affected by both government spending and federal regulation, Boeing is careful not to get too involved in partisan politics or give the appearance of favoring one party over the other.
So far in the 2020 election cycle, Boeing’s political action committee has donated $ 1.1 million to federal candidates. Of that, 47% has gone to Democrats and 53% to Republicans, according to the Open Secrets campaign’s financial tracking website.
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