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Boeing disclosed $32.8 million in compensation for outgoing CEO Dave Calhoun, a 45% increase from a year earlier, even as the planemaker struggles to contain a crisis of confidence in its control controls. quality.
In a regulatory filing Friday, Boeing said Calhoun was given a bonus in February 2023 that would raise his total pay above the level of previous years.
He was awarded a potential $30 million in stock awards on top of his $1.4 million salary, the company said, bringing his total for the year above the $22.6 million he was paid been paid in 2022.
However, his stock compensation will not be realized until he sells the shares, all of which cannot be cashed out immediately. He could lose part of the total if he steps down at the end of this year, as he said last month.
Boeing’s stock price has fallen 27% since the start of 2024, reducing the value of the grants.
“As the company continues its efforts to restore stability and public confidence during a crucial period of transition for Boeing, it is worth noting that the 2023 Calhoun awards were designed to highlight the importance of shareholder value growth to long term,” the company said.
He added that in February this year he turned down his expected annual bonus of $2.8 million.
The company has been in trouble since January, when a door panel exploded in mid-air during an Alaska Airlines flight. The crash, which involved a Boeing 737 Max 9, is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The company has had to slow production of the 737 Max in an attempt to fix manufacturing defects, and some airlines have been forced to change their flight schedules due to delays in deliveries of its planes. Boeing warned that it will burn more cash in the first quarter than previously expected due to the crisis.
While the Alaska Airlines crash “demonstrates that Boeing still has much work to do, the board believes that Mr. Calhoun responded to this event in the right manner by taking responsibility for the crash,” the company said.
The award will be put to a shareholder vote at Boeing’s annual meeting, scheduled for May 17.
Calhoun’s pay had already been the focus of criticism last year. Proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services said in 2023 that the company had increased its CEO’s pay despite reporting negative total returns to shareholders.
“The company has underperformed over CEO Calhoun’s tenure,” ISS said last year.
Separately on Thursday, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth leveled further criticism of Boeing. In a letter to the FAA, he said Boeing’s failure to tell pilots that a 737 Max’s cockpit door should open during rapid depressurization was “chilling given its history of withholding 737 Max information from pilots”.
“This is dangerous and the FAA should not look at this latest omission in isolation,” he said.