Boeing Plant Leadership Change and Facing Production Challenges

In the wake of a near-accident earlier this year and ongoing challenges, Boeing announces a significant change in corporate leadership. Dave Calhoun, the current CEO of the aerospace giant, will step down at the end of the year. In a letter to the workforce, Calhoun marked the incident with an Alaska Airlines 737-9 Max on January 5th as a turning point for the company. Despite an initial stock price surge of nearly four percent following the news release, Boeing shares later recorded a modest gain of just over one percent. Prior to this, the stock had already suffered considerable losses since the beginning of the year. Similarly, Board Chairman Larry Kellner and the head of the commercial airplane division, Stan Deal, are stepping down. The latter has already handed over his position to Stephanie Pope, who now emerges as a potential successor to Calhoun. Calhoun emphasized that his resignation was a personal decision and announced this change for 2024. A potential successor for Calhoun has yet to be named. Steve Mollenkopf, former CEO of Qualcomm and a board member since 2020, will lead the selection process. In the wake of the troubling incident with the Alaska Airlines aircraft, in which a large section of the fuselage broke away during flight, both Boeing and fuselage supplier Spirit Aerosystems are now under intense scrutiny. The FAA has already paused the ramping up of production of the 737 Max series. Follow-up investigations by the NTSB and the Justice Department also hang over the company. Ryanair, whose fleet includes Boeing's 737 models, welcomed the changes in management, commenting that they were desirable for Boeing and its customers. The crisis surrounding the 737 Max model significantly shook Boeing in 2019, leading to a slump as the world's leading aircraft manufacturer and resulting in severe financial losses. Now, Boeing is seeking stability and a realignment for the future with a focus on safety and quality. With only 56 of 89 reviewed processes passed and 97 violations identified, as reported by the "New York Times," the challenges for Boeing are immense. Meanwhile, Boeing confirms it is considering the acquisition of long-standing supplier Spirit Aerosystems. Before a sale in 2005, Spirit was part of Boeing for nearly eight decades and remains a key supplier to this day. Spirit is also reviewing the sale of a plant in Northern Ireland, which currently serves Airbus.