WASHINGTON: Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg will tell lawmakers on Wednesday (Apr 2) the US planemaker made “serious missteps” in recent years but has since made “sweeping changes” after a January 2024 mid-air emergency involving a new 737 MAX.
“Boeing has made serious missteps in recent years – and it is unacceptable. In response, we have made sweeping changes to the people, processes, and overall structure of our company,” Ortberg will tell the Senate Commerce Committee, according to written testimony seen by Reuters. “No one is more committed to turning our company around than our team.”
Ortberg took over in August after the planemaker’s prior CEO Dave Calhoun announced his resignation in the aftermath of last year’s mid-air panel blowout on a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 airplane that was missing four key bolts.
After the incident, the US Federal Aviation Administration imposed a production cap of 38 planes per month on the 737 MAX.
Last month, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Boeing had lost the trust of the American people and needed strict oversight after the Alaska incident and two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
“Culture is perhaps the most predominant change we are making as a company,” Ortberg’s testimony said, adding company leaders are “spending more time listening and learning from our employees, working to restore trust, and holding leadership accountable.”
