Boeing strike has already cost the company and workers $5 billion, new analysis shows

The multi-billion-dollar tab highlights the difficulties facing the aircraft maker, once a byword for American quality.

Sunday marks one month since members of the International Association of Machinists began their strike against Boeing. The cost: nearly $5 billion, according to a new analysis by Anderson Economic Group, shared exclusively with CNN. That multi-billion-dollar tab highlights the difficulties facing the aircraft maker, once a byword for American quality. Instead, it has faced a string of bad news in recent years, from fatal crashes to increased regulatory scrutiny to the strike by 33,000 workers that started on September 13 that ground operations to a near halt. Boeing’s workers and shareholders make up the bulk of the strike losses, at $3.7 billion, the new analysis shows. Not a single plane has been worked on at the company’s production facility in Everett, Washington, since the IAM members walked off the job, triggering the first strike at the company in 16 years. “Suppliers, Seattle-area businesses, and Boeing customers are paying part of the price,” said Patrick Anderson, CEO of Anderson Economic Group. “Our week-by-week estimates now include significantly larger losses to other businesses in the Seattle area, as well as losses to customers that rely on Boeing’s service and parts.” Losses to Boeing’s suppliers total $900 million in the first four weeks, while non-Boeing Seattle workers impacted by the strike have seen losses of $102 million. Boeing’s customers — the airlines — are also feeling the financial pain, with $285 million in losses to Boeing customers worldwide. “The costs to Boeing and its shareholders are growing as the company burns through its cash and may need to borrow or issue stock to keep its operations going through the strike and what may be a difficult recovery,” said Anderson.