Originally Posted by
etudiant
The US Government can be pretty ruthless and has reacted harshly to being misled on other occasions. Also, there are plenty of ways to ensure the valuable operational assets are preserved even if the investors and corporate leadership get crushed.
That is what restructuring is all about.
Exactly. If US commercial airliner manufacturing is seen as viable, there will be plenty of bidders eager to pick up the relevant pieces of Boeing's business -- presumably at fire-sale prices -- if DOJ/regulatory/civil actions make continuing under the current structure impossible or undesirable.
Also, there's no single "US" entity that will decide how to proceed here. Justice, the FAA, the various courts and the parties to cases in those courts will all move more or less independently. I wouldn't predict Boeing's demise, just yet, but I certainly don't think it can be ruled out. The company has blundered into very big trouble, indeed.