this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024
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[–] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 193 points 8 months ago (3 children)

Nothing but a scapegoat if they replace him with another accountant instead of an engineer.

[–] 5C5C5C@programming.dev 101 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (3 children)

By all credible accounts the systemic issues at Boeing predate this CEO by probably 2 decades. Dave Calhoun seems to specialize in "troubled companies", i.e. he has never been anything more than a professional scape goat.

Edit: I didn't do enough research, he hasn't really been CEO at many places, just upper positions like director and board member. Still, the companies he specializes in seem to be the ones with reputations to cannibalize for money by cutting quality and screwing consumers, like GE.

[–] db2@lemmy.world 60 points 8 months ago (1 children)

If it comes with golden parachutes it's all but guaranteed he doesn't care.

[–] Zron@lemmy.world 39 points 8 months ago

If I got millions of dollars every time a company went down in flames around me, I’d carry around a can of gas and matches.

He was CEO, he could have implemented policies to alleviate these issues. Instead he kept the status quo.

He belongs in jail, not another board room.

[–] fuckwit_mcbumcrumble@lemmy.world 28 points 8 months ago (1 children)

He was responsible for the figurative nosedive my boss' previous company did. Now he's responsible for the literal nosedive of Boeing.

This man is a professional company ruiner, not just a scape goat.

[–] Rentlar@lemmy.ca 12 points 8 months ago

Calhoun's MCAS might have been set incorrectly 👀

[–] turkishdelight@lemmy.ml 7 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Didn't he hold senior positions in Boeing much longer than he has been CEO?

[–] 5C5C5C@programming.dev 7 points 8 months ago

You're right, he was there since 2009, so he has probably been helping to design the cannibalization, but it certainly didn't begin with him.

[–] bionicjoey@lemmy.ca 17 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't matter if the CEO was an engineer or not in a previous life. The job of a CEO doesn't change and he did exactly what he was supposed to do: made shortsighted decisions that maximised profit and took the fall for it when the short-sightedness of those decisions blew up in their faces.

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee 61 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Until the merger, Boeing was engineer-driven. They were well known for safety first and design over cost.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/30/business/boeing-history-of-problems/index.html

There are hundreds of articles on this topic and you rant without knowing the topic.

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee 11 points 8 months ago (2 children)

They need to get back to the engineering mindset. This is why I think CEO bonuses on things like EPS are BS. It should be tied to things like engineering, safety, etc.

[–] jkrtn@lemmy.ml 13 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It should be something that must be returned if there's a severe fuckup within five years or something. Also they shouldn't be getting bonuses, they are already massively overpaid.

[–] wintermute_oregon@lemm.ee -5 points 8 months ago

For most CEO, Bonuses and stock options are the bulk of their pay.

I have no issues with either or even their pay, but I have no issues with regulations around it since they are public companies. I do have issues with a product that should be safe with any bonus tied to profitability. It should be tied to safety.

[–] pr06lefs@lemmy.ml 10 points 8 months ago

I think they're more in a "hire a hit man to kill whistleblowers" mindset. Not the sort to suddenly turn about and become engineering do-gooders.