Boeing, in turmoil after quality and safety problems on its planes, is trying to make a new start by reshuffling its management, including the departure, at the end of 2024, of its boss Dave Calhoun.
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The American aircraft manufacturer was struggling to recover after the crashes of two 737 MAX 8s in 2018 and 2019, then the Covid pandemic which in its wake damaged the supply chain as orders exploded.
The group has reported numerous quality problems on its production lines, in particular concerning its flagship aircraft, the 737.
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The incident at the beginning of January on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 was crucial because it occurred in mid-flight. A cork holder came loose from the cabin, causing only minor injuries. Several investigations have been launched, notably highlighting recurring problems of “non-compliance”.
AFP
After several weeks of revelations, the ax has fallen: Dave Calhoun will leave his position as general manager at the end of 2024, Boeing announced Monday in a press release. His successor will be designated later.
An admission of failure: he arrived in January 2020 to restore confidence after the crashes of the 737 MAX 8s of Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines which left a total of 346 dead. His predecessor, Dennis Muilenburg, was widely criticized for his management during this crisis.
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Mr. Calhoun, who could have stayed until 2028, is not the only one leaving.
Stan Deal, director of the commercial aviation division, is replaced, effective immediately, by Stephanie Pope, who has been with Boeing for nearly thirty years. She was appointed, in December, to the newly created position of director of operations which, according to experts, placed her in a good position to eventually take over the general management of the aircraft manufacturer.
Stephanie Pope
AFP
Furthermore, the presidency of the board of directors will go to Steve Mollenkopf. Member of the executive board of Boeing and former boss of chip manufacturer Qualcomm, he will be responsible in particular for finding the future general director of Boeing.
On February 21, Boeing announced the departure of Ed Clark, vice president and general manager of the 737 program. He also headed the Renton (Washington State) factory, near Seattle, where this model is assembled.
Around 4:45 p.m. GMT, Boeing shares rose 1.39% on the New York Stock Exchange.
“After a series of disasters, a change was inevitable,” commented Neil Saunders, director at GlobalData, to AFP, stressing that customers and passengers had “lost all confidence” in Boeing.
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But, like him, the consultant from the specialist firm AIR, Michel Merluzeau, believes that this will be insufficient “without significant operational improvements and changes in the factories”. According to Mr. Merluzeau, “the emergency is in the factories” and, if nothing changes, “tangible results will not occur” because these problems “have been simmering for more than forty years” in Seattle.
Black sequence
Serving Boeing has been the greatest privilege of my life,” Mr. Calhoun said in a letter to employees, attached to the press release. “The eyes of the world are on us and I know we will come out better as a company,” he added.
“With a strong board of directors, an excellent management team and 170,000 dedicated Boeing employees, I have every confidence in the future of our company,” said chairman of the board Larry Kellner, quoted in the communicated.
After the January 5 incident, the United States Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) launched an audit of the manufacturer’s quality control.
In early March, it said that “non-compliance issues” had been identified in production control at Boeing and its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems.
Result: the production rate of the 737 was frozen by the FAA at the level of the end of 2023 (38 per month), while the aircraft manufacturer intended to continue its increase to 50 monthly in 2025/2026.
The group was counting on this increase to achieve its objective of ten billion dollars per year of positive cash flow by this horizon.
“What the FAA wants and, more importantly, what I want, is a production system that is under control at every step of the process,” regardless of how many aircraft are ultimately produced, Dave commented Monday Calhoun on the American channel CNBC.
Production problems and other incidents have caused discontent among airlines which, failing to receive the ordered planes on time, have revised their flight programs for 2024 and frozen thousands of recruitments. Several asked last week to meet with the board of directors.
The boss of Ryanair, a major customer of Boeing, has come forward on several occasions and, on Monday, welcomed the announced changes, which were “indispensable”, according to Michael O’Leary.