In the wake of the continued crisis with its 737 Max aircraft, Boeing Co. on Thursday announced a key management shakeup and the first sign that the company is holding someone accountable.
The airplane manufacturer removed Kevin McAllister from his position as Head of Commercial Airplanes, Boeing’s most important and most lucrative division.
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Not only has Boeing had difficulty in getting the 737 Max back in the air after two separate crashes earlier this year killed 346 people, but it has also botched its public relations handling of the crisis as well as its relationships with airlines that use the 737 Max.
The company’s board kept CEO Dennis A. Muilenburg, though it stripped him of his chairman title earlier this month.
Since the Max’s grounding in March, Boeing has lost $8 billion in revenue and airlines have lost in the hundreds of millions after being forced to cancel flights and adjust schedules around using the 737 Max.
“The Boeing board fully supports these leadership moves,” Boeing’s chairman of the board, David Calhoun, said in a statement. “Boeing will emerge stronger than ever from its current challenges and the changes we’re making throughout Boeing will benefit the flying public well into the future.”
Stanley A. Deal, who had been acting as the head of global services for Boeing, will replace McAllister immediately. Deal has spent more than three decades at the company, has held several senior roles throughout and has worked with the commercial airplanes division.
“We’re grateful to Kevin for his dedicated and tireless service to Boeing, its customers and its communities during a challenging time, and for his commitment to support this transition,” Mr. Muilenburg said in a statement.
