Departures: Boeing chief exec Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of the year
Boeing has announced a clear-out of its leadership team as it grapples with a safety crisis that has left airlines furious and sent its share price plummeting.
Chief executive Dave Calhoun will step down by the end of the year with chairman Larry Kellner and commercial aircraft boss Stan Deal also bailing out.
A panel blew off the side of a new Alaska Airlines 737 Max in mid-air during a flight in January, terrifying passengers. Investigators said bolts that help keep the panel in place were missing after repair work at a Boeing factory.
US regulators put a limit on the production of 737s and found a series of problems after an inspection at Boeing facilities.
Calhoun had been appointed four years ago after Dennis Muilenburg was fired following two crashes that killed nearly 350 people.
Last week, US airline bosses asked to meet Boeing’s directors – without the chief executive present – to express their frustration.
Calhoun said yesterday that it had been his decision to quit. And he told US broadcaster CNBC: ‘We have another mountain to climb.’
Steve Mollenkopf, former boss of chip firm Qualcomm, will take over from Kellner and lead the search for Calhoun’s successor.
Chief operating officer Stephanie Pope is replacing Deal.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has previously expressed his fury at what he called the ‘s***show in Seattle’ where Boeing is based.
He yesterday welcomed what he described as the ‘much-needed management changes’.
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