Boeing's space and defense chief, Ted Colbert, exits in new CEO's shake-up

From Investing.com: 2024-09-20 22:55:32

Boeing’s head of troubled space and defense unit, Ted Colbert, is leaving the company immediately under new CEO Kelly Ortberg. Steve Parker will take over Colbert’s responsibilities. Boeing’s space business has suffered setbacks and cost overruns, with NASA’s recent decision to return Boeing’s Starliner capsule home without astronauts costing $1.6 billion since 2016.

Colbert’s departure comes amid Boeing’s efforts to save cash by announcing furloughs of white-collar workers during a strike by over 32,000 workers. In January, a new Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 suffered a mid-air emergency due to missing bolts. Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud conspiracy charge in July and pay at least $243.6 million.

FAA has tightened oversight of Boeing and halted the MAX production until significant quality and safety improvements are made. Steve Parker was brought in two years ago to help fix loss-making programs. Boeing has lost billions in its defense, space, and security unit due to cost overruns on fixed-price contracts vulnerable to inflationary pressures.
Boeing has lost over $2 billion on delayed program to deliver two Boeing 747-8s for use as Air Force One. Shares closed down about 1% on Friday and have dropped about 41% this year.



Read more at Investing.com: Boeing’s space and defense chief exits in new CEO’s first executive move By Reuters