Boeing CEO accuses predecessor of lowering company’s product quality

Boeing’s previous chief executive Dennis Muilenburg managed to achieve a significant increase in production volumes of the company, but this led to a decrease in product quality, David Calhoun, who became the new CEO of Boeing in December 2019, said in an interview with The New York Times, Report informs.

He said the former chief executive had turbocharged Boeing’s production rates before the supply chain was ready, a move that sent Boeing shares to an all-time high but compromised quality.

“I’ll never be able to judge what motivated Dennis, whether it was a stock price that was going to continue to go up and up, or whether it was just beating the other guy to the next rate increase,” he said. “If anybody ran over the rainbow for the pot of gold on stock, it would have been him.”

“It’s more than I imagined it would be, honestly,” Calhoun said, describing the problems he is confronting. “And it speaks to the weaknesses of our leadership.”

Calhoun said he is working to mend relationships with angry airlines, win back the confidence of international regulators and appease anxious President Trump - all while moving as quickly as possible to get the grounded 737 Max back in the air.