Sacked former Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg leaves with $62m payout
Former Boeing boss Dennis Muilenburg has left the firm with a $62m (£48m), despite having overseen one of the most disastrous years in the company’s 104-year history.
The payment comes in compensation and pension benefits, but Muilenburg will not get severance pay, according to Boeing.
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The company fired Muilenburg in December in a bid to restore confidence in the firm. It came after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max plane, which killed a total of 346 people.
Nonetheless, Muilenburg’s payout may not be the last money he sees from Boeing.
He holds stock options that would have been worth $18.5m, according to the company’s closing price on Friday.
The plane manufacturer confirmed today that David Calhoun, Boeing’s new chief executive, could get a $7m bonus if he can get the 737 Max back in the air over the coming months.
Boeing said it was sure Calhoun was the right person for the job, saying he would “strengthen Boeing’s safety culture, improve transparency and rebuild trust”.
He has served on the board since 2009, prior to being appointed CEO and president of Boeing late last year.
It comes after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is seeking to fine Boeing $5.4m on allegations it failed to prevent the installation of defective parts on its 737 Max airplanes.
The 737 Max has been grounded since March after the crashes, although the parts issue is completely unrelated, Boeing said.
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Last week, it emerged Boeing staff joked about possible flaws in the 737 Max model and mocked regulators in hundreds of messages the jet manufacturer has handed over to investigators.
The messages also saw an employee say of the plane in April 2017: “This airplane is designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys.”