The American Prospect has shed some light on the concerning behaviors within Boeing that have led to an uptick in safety issues and controversies recently, forcing CEO David Calhoun to step down this year.
The outlet says that under former CEO Jim McNerney, who led the company from 2005 to 2015, Boeing was directed to adopt a new approach to “knowledge,” prioritizing intellectual property and trade secrets over the expertise and experience of its workforce.
The company derogatorily labeled employees who prioritized plane integrity over stock prices as “phenomenally talented a**holes” and marginalized them within to encourage them to leave.
Resist The Mainstream reported last month that a Boeing insider attributed the aviation giant’s decline to a combination of remote work among profit-driven executives and an excessive focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The anonymous source described Boeing as “a company of caretakers” to City Journal, painting a grim picture of disconnect between leadership and the workforce.
“It is not under owners. And it is not under people who love airplanes,” the source said.
The long-time insider also criticized Boeing’s growing fixation on DEI policies, labeling them as counterproductive to fostering excellence within the organization.
The American Prospect’s report attributed the company’s decline to similar sentiments, sharing that McNerney also decided to outsource a significant portion of the 787 Dreamliner’s development and engineering to suppliers, many of whom lacked sufficient expertise.
The decision aimed to reduce costs and weaken unions associated with the company, however it led to cost overruns and delays totaling billions of dollars.
One such outsourcing debacle involved a supplier subcontracting part of the 787 fuselage design to an Israeli firm that “botched the job.” Boeing eventually had to intervene due to financial difficulties and necessitating.
The company eventually moved managers from Washington state to South Carolina to train non-union workers in plane assembly, aiming to weaken unions.
The report highlighted another instance of disregarded safety concerns from within, providing an example of quality control engineer John Woods who was terminated for insisting inspectors thoroughly document damage and repair performed on composite materials, which were far less resilient than steel.
“Everyone from Everett started dropping like flies,” said a former manager of the plant
“There’s a form we all had to sign that says you take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, and it states pretty clearly that if something happens to a plane because of something you did wrong, you can face a major fine or jail time for that,” the manager continued.
“The Everett managers took that seriously. Charleston leadership did not,” they added.
The report also focused on John Barnett, the whistleblower who raised concerns about Boeing’s practices and was tragically found dead from a “self-inflicted” gunshot wound after a court testimony, leaving many suspicious.
This discovery of Barnett’s deceased body notably occurred after Barnett had begun speaking out about the company’s safety concerns and confided in a family friend, stating, “If anything happens, it’s not suicide.”
A former Boeing executive told the author of the report that when it comes to Boeing officials, “I don’t think one can be cynical enough when it comes to these guys.”
The post Boeing Accused Of Deprioritizing Safety After Purging Veteran Leaders, Outsourcing Dreamliner Developments To Boost Stock Prices: Report appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
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Author: Jordyn M.
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