Boeing Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg speaks during a press conference after the annual shareholders meeting at the Field Museum on April 29, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. Boeing announced earnings fell 21 percent in the first quarter after multiple crashes of the company’s bestselling plane the 737 Max. (Photo by Jim Young-Pool/Getty Images)
Jim Young | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Boeing‘s board removed CEO Dennis Muilenburg as chairman so he can focus on running the company after the 737 Max crisis, the company said Friday.
Boeing is facing numerous investigations and criticism over its 737 Max planes, following two fatal crashes within five months of one another that killed a total of 346 people.
The manufacturer is scrambling to get regulators to allow its 737 Max planes to fly again. They have been grounded worldwide since mid-March, after the second of the two crashes, an Ethiopian Airlines flight with 157 people on board. A Lion Air 737 Max went down in Indonesia shortly after takeoff on Oct. 29, 2018, killing all 189 people on the flight.
Boeing said the changes will allow Muilenburg to focus on getting the Max back to service and that lead director David Calhoun will serve as non-executive chairman.
“The board has full confidence in Dennis as CEO and believes this division of labor will enable maximum focus on running the business with the board playing an active oversight role,” Calhoun said in the statement.
Muilenburg said he fully supports the board’s decision.
“Our entire team is laser-focused on returning the 737 MAX safely to service and delivering on the full breadth of our company’s commitments,” he said in the statement.
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