Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun to step down in shakeup amid safety crisis

investing.com:

By David Shepardson and Allison Lampert

(Reuters) -Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun will step down by year-end in a broad management shakeup brought on by the planemaker's sprawling safety crisis exacerbated by a January mid-air panel blowout on a 737 MAX plane.

In addition, board chair Larry Kellner and Stan Deal, head of the company's commercial planes business, are also leaving as Boeing (NYSE:BA)'s board tries to get control of the myriad issues that have shaken confidence in the iconic planemaker over several weeks.

The January incident was the most recent in a series of safety crises that have shaken the industry's confidence in the planemaker and hampered its ability to increase production. Calhoun, 66, was brought in as CEO following a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 that killed nearly 350 people.

Immediately after the Jan. 5 panel blowout, airline executives expressed support for Calhoun, but those good feelings ebbed after additional production delays and as regulators detailed quality problems at its key manufacturing hub outside Seattle.

Some investors said the shake-up would not be enough to address these persistent issues.

Boeing shares have lost roughly a quarter of their value since the incident. They were up 1.4% Monday, off highs hit earlier in the day.

«They need more than just a shakeup at the CEO and the chairman of the board level… they're just paralyzed from making decisions,» said Robert Pavlik, senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth. «It's going to take a little bit more time for Boeing to get it straightened out.»

The company in the midst of federal investigations and U.S. authorities curbed production while Boeing attempts to fix safety and quality problems. The company is in talks to buy former