Boeing's CEO Calhoun receives massive severance money.
At the start of the year, a section of a Boeing airliner's cabin wall came loose shortly after take-off. Following this incident, more significant safety issues with the aircraft manufacturer were brought to light, resulting in flight bans. Yet, all directors aside from Boeing CEO Calhoun continued to receive high salaries.
The shareholders of American aircraft manufacturer Boeing voted to re-elect outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun to the board and approved a severance package worth millions for the Boeing executive. Boeing released their preliminary vote results during their Annual General Meeting. All eleven Boeing directors were re-elected, and the planned $33 million (around 30 million euros) compensation package for Calhoun was approved by the shareholders.
This Annual General Meeting occurred against the backdrop of serious allegations, such as safety issues, against the aircraft manufacturer. Following multiple safety issues, Boeing announced at the end of March the resignation of its CEO Calhoun and announced two significant leadership changes within the company.
The consulting firm Glass Lewis advised Boeing shareholders to vote against Calhoun and two other Boeing directors re-election to the board. ISS, the most influential organization for advising US institutional investors, also urged shareholders to reject Calhoun's severance.
Steve Mollenkopf, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, assured that a "thorough process" would be conducted when selecting Calhoun's successor. The new leader must be able to guide Boeing through "the present and upcoming challenges." Mollenkopf insisted that the "integrity, which has recently been lost, must be re-established."
171 aircraft are grounded
Several technical breakdowns on Boeing planes had raised concerns. At the year's outset, part of a cabin wall in an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane detached during a flight, necessitating an emergency landing. The FAA issued a temporary ban on flying 737 MAX aircraft in January, affecting 171 planes.
Calhoun then acknowledged errors, calling the event a "turning point." However, there were more setbacks: In early March, a tire from a United Airlines Boeing 777 separated shortly after take-off from San Francisco. And last week, New Zealand authorities announced an inquiry after several passengers were hurt on a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight from Sydney to Auckland during turbulence.
On Tuesday, the Department of Justice in Washington declared that Boeing could face prosecution once more for the crashes of two 737 MAX aircraft in 2018 and 2019, which led to a total of 346 deaths.
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Despite the ongoing safety concerns and multiple incidents involving Boeing airplanes, such as the grounding of 171 737 MAX aircraft due to structural issues, the company's outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun was awarded a severance package worth millions. Despite calls for rejection from shareholder advisory firms, Calhoun's compensation was approved during Boeing's Annual General Meeting.
Source: www.ntv.de
