Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun leaves a meeting with Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, in Hartville, Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024. Calhoun was meeting with the senators about recent safety issues, including the grounding of the 737 MAX 9 aircraft.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun is scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday about the company’s safety and manufacturing crisis after a door panel blew off a nearly new 737 Max 9 jet in January.
Calhoun, who has said he will step down by the end of the year, will face questioning from the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations as the company works to improve employee training and the quality of its planes and repair a tarnished safety reputation. The company has not yet named a successor to Calhoun, who took over as president after the previous president was fired for his handling of two Boeing crashes.
“Much has been said about Boeing’s culture, and we hear those concerns loud and clear. Our culture is far from perfect, but we are taking steps and making progress,” Calhoun is expected to tell the committee, according to written testimony ahead of the hearing.
The hearing comes as Boeing faces possible U.S. prosecution after the Justice Department said last month that it breached a 2021 settlement linked to the 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people. The agreement, which protected the company and its executives from criminal prosecution related to the crashes, was set to expire just days after the deal collapsed. Alaska Airlines The door panel was opened in January. The Justice Department has until July 7 to decide whether to bring charges.
Several family members of the victims are expected to attend the hearing. Relatives of the Max victims met with Justice Department officials late last month to urge the US to prosecute.
“Boeing promised to overhaul its safety practices and company culture. Those promises have proven to be empty promises and the American people deserve an explanation,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the subcommittee, said in announcing the hearing earlier this month.
Calhoun is scheduled to appear before the committee on Tuesday at 2pm ET.
The Federal Aviation Administration has taken a tough stance against Boeing, with FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker saying he would station ground inspectors at Boeing facilities until the agency is satisfied it has made safety improvements.
The FAA has already barred Boeing from increasing production of the Max, its best-selling jet, and Whitaker said last month that it would probably be months before the restrictions are lifted.
Boeing’s aircraft production has been hit hard by the crisis, with major customersSouthwest Airlines, etc. and United Airlines To align growth and hiring plans.
Boeing’s production and deliveries have hurt the company’s cash flow, and the company warned investors last month that it will burn through cash this year rather than generate it.
Boeing shares have fallen more than 30% so far this year as of Monday’s closing price, while the S&P 500 has risen nearly 15%.
The company is trying to root out quality defects in its jets and cut so-called moving jobs, which are manufacturing steps that are done out of sequence, something the company has done to address the defects. After several whistleblowers raised concerns last month about quality issues and retaliation, Boeing listed a number of other changes to encourage workers to speak up about problems in its factories.
Meanwhile, Boeing is facing supply chain problems. Spirit AeroSystemsThe company, a major supplier to both Boeing and Airbus, said last week that titanium had entered its supply chain with false documentation. It said more than 1,000 tests had confirmed the material was “aircraft-grade titanium,” despite the false documentation.
Boeing is trying to buy aircraft supplier Spirit, and Calhoun said the deal is “highly likely” to close in the first half of this year.
