The aircraft manufacturer Boeing is introducing consequences from the series of mishaps: CEO Calhoun will resign at the end of the year, and two department heads will also have to leave.
After the recent series of safety defects on Boeing aircraft, the company is replacing several employees in responsible positions: CEO Dave Calhoun will be giving up the position at the end of the year, the aircraft manufacturer announced. Chairman of the Board of Directors Larry Kellner and the head of the commercial aircraft division, Stan Deal, will also be leaving.
“The decision to resign was entirely my decision,” Calhoun told CNBC. He will help find a successor. In the case of the department head Deal, the successor has already been arranged: Stephanie Pope is to take over the management. Steve Mollenkopf has been nominated as the new chairman of the supervisory board, it said.
Suddenly the door was gone
After a series of mishaps at Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered extensive inspections, including an inspection of the production facility near Seattle. 737 Max machines are mainly manufactured there – a defect in one of the aircraft in the series brought Boeing negative headlines worldwide in January: the Alaska Airlines plane lost a door in the middle of the flight. The plane was able to return safely to the airport in Portland, Oregon, with only minor injuries.
However, during inspections, loose parts and loose screws were also discovered on other machines, which raised doubts about the design and approval process of the Boeing blockbuster. In March there were also reports in quick succession of a Boeing 737 that lost a wheel during takeoff and a 777 that lost a cover on the fuselage.
“Production before quality”
In this context, the focus has come to the fuselage supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which Boeing now wants to take over again. Calhoun said he hopes a conclusion will come soon. Boeing CFO Brian West said: “For years we have prioritized rapid aircraft production over quality and that must now change.” The security deficiencies scare off customers and are now leaving deep marks on the company’s balance sheet.
Boeing manager Calhoun came to Boeing as a crisis manager. He began his executive career as head of market research firm The Nielsen Company before moving to Blackstone Group. In 2019 he joined Boeing as chairman of the supervisory board, and from January 2020 he was also chairman of the board to help the company out of the crisis after the crash of two planes with more than 300 deaths and the subsequent grounding of the 737 Max.