Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington before meeting with a group of senators on January 24, 2024.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Sociable Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun’s salary fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, down from $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package was hurt by the prolonged safety crisis surrounding the company’s best-selling jet, the 737 Max.
Calhoun’s total compensation last year increased 45% to $32.8 million, up from $22.6 million the previous year. But Boeing said the 2023 total is closer to $23.5 million since it includes long-term incentives resembling stock. Shares of the planemaker have fallen nearly 30% this year.
The total compensation of Stan Deal, whom Boeing replaced at the top of its industrial aircraft division last month, increased 42% to $12.5 million.
Last month, Calhoun said he would step down by the end of the year. His departure is a component of a sweeping change that also saw the company change its president and head of its industrial aircraft division. The manufacturer is grappling with the fall of a door plug panel that became airborne from a 737 Max aircraft operated by Alaska Airlines in January.
On Friday, Boeing disclosed take-home pay, which didn’t include Calhoun’s rejected 2023 bonus, valued at $2.8 million, and executive compensation. The company said it is going to now more closely link executive pay to safety goals.
“I promise that I personally and as a board will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get the company to where it needs to be,” newly appointed Boeing CEO Steve Mollenkopf said in a message to shareholders filed Friday.
The Jan. 5 accident slowed deliveries of latest jets, and Boeing said it will burn through additional cash than previously expected. The company is scheduled to release first-quarter results on April 24.
Calhoun took the helm of Boeing in January 2020, after his predecessor was ousted for his handling of the aftermath of two fatal Boeing 737 Max crashes. In addition to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, Boeing has also noted a variety of quality defects in its aircraft. That slowed deliveries of latest planes to customers clamoring for latest jets as travel curtailed, hurting Boeing’s money flow.
The Alaska Airlines door plug that threatened disaster was the most significant issue since the crashes. The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines crash, and the Federal Aviation Administration has restricted production of the Boeing 737 Max until it agrees to Boeing quality control.
Boeing said Friday that “operating performance metrics for all business units will focus exclusively on quality and safety goals this year” and that long-term incentives for executives might be reduced to zero if the goals aren’t met.
Boeing last saw an annual profit in 2018.
Explanation: CEO Dave Calhoun’s total compensation for 2023 is $23.5 million. The earlier version included a drawing that was later updated by Boeing.
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