Bloomberg reported on Thursday that major airline manufacturer Boeing has closed its Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiative amid huge financial losses, union strikes and scrutiny over safety and production issues. ) The department was disbanded.
The reorganization, which relocates DEI staff to Boeing’s Employee Experience division, reflects CEO Kelly Ortberg’s focus on consolidating operations as the company grapples with a number of issues. According to To Bloomberg.
Sarah Liang Bowen, who previously led Boeing’s DEI division, announced her resignation on Thursday, Bloomberg reported. on LinkedIn postMr. Bowen expressed pride in the team’s work and acknowledged both its challenges and accomplishments.
Things got even worse for Boeing. https://t.co/pItBO7SKEk
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 9, 2024
“The team accomplished so much, sometimes imperfectly and never easily, but we dreamed of accomplishing even more,” Bowen wrote in a farewell post on LinkedIn. Ta.
Critics argue that such policies encourage discrimination by favoring certain groups, and this increased scrutiny allows activists to target companies and demand a shift away from their DEI priorities. It is part of a larger trend, the paper said.
Ortberg’s vision for Boeing includes significant executive cuts and a 10% reduction in the overall workforce to reorient the company’s mission. Boeing and its shareholders face a $1.05 billion loss, and workers and suppliers are expected to lose $351 million due to the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union strike that began on September 13. .
Under former CEO Dave Calhoun, Boeing pledged to increase black employment to 20% by 2025, and the company expected to increase black employment by 7.5% by 2023, Bloomberg reported.
Boeing said in a statement, “Boeing continues to recruit and retain top talent and create an inclusive workforce where all teammates around the world can perform at their best while supporting the company’s mission.” “We are committed to building an environment.”
The airline received a lot of attention earlier this year after an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 flight had its door plug torn off mid-air, leading to a federal investigation. A Senate report released in September found that Boeing prioritized rapid production over quality and did not provide adequate training, based on a 2024 special audit by the FAA and an investigation conducted by a U.S. Senate subcommittee. It turned out that it wasn’t.
A NASA report released in August found that Boeing hired underqualified workers to build space rockets, leading to quality control problems. A NASA audit suggested that a shortage of skilled aerospace professionals on Space Launch System projects contributed significantly to delays and increased costs.
Prior to these incidents, the FAA report After two tragic accidents in 2018 and 2019 that killed 346 people, the company disclosed potential safety issues in its operations in February, and the company was charged with criminal fraud in July. acknowledged. Former Boeing senior manager and whistleblower Ed Pearson has previously criticized executives for ignoring warnings about quality control risks.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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