Boeing’s chief executive offered to forego his bonuses over the 737 Max crisis
Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg has offered to forego all bonuses for 2019 as the firm scrambles to deal with the fallout from two deadly crashes of its 737 Max jet.
The embattled boss, who has been stripped of his dual role of chief executive and chairman of the aerospace giant in recent weeks, faced accusations of lying from senators last week during a bruising hearing on how the firm allowed the 737 Max to fly.
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It has been a gruelling year for Muilenburg, as the pressure mounts on the firm to fix an anti-stall feature on the jet which has been linked to the crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia, in which 346 people were killed.
The 737 Max model has been grounded since March as a result, causing significant headaches for both airlines and suppliers.
However, Boeing chairman Dave Calhoun offered a vote of confidence in an interview with US broadcaster CNBC, saying he “has done everything right,” and that the CEO had called him over the weekend with the intention of rejecting his bonuses for the year.
“Remember, Dennis didn’t create this problem,” he said.
Calhoun said Muilenburg had called him on Saturday “with the purpose of suggesting that he not take any compensation for 2019 in the form of bonuses, which of course is most of your compensation”.
The night after the first of two hearings on Capitol Hill last week with senators, Calhoun said, Muilenburg listened to families of the victims of the crashes.
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“He listened for several hours to every story, every story the victims’ families presented to him. Changed him for life,” Calhoun said.
Nevertheless, Muilenburg suffered a significant blow at the hearings, as senators slammed the manufacturer for failing to put in more safeguards after it emerged Boeing employees had safety concerns about the plane.