Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., before meeting with a group of senators on January 24, 2024.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
open minded Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun's pay fell to $5 million last year after declining a bonus, compared to $7 million in 2022, and his latest compensation package was hurt by the long safety crisis surrounding the company's best-selling jet, the 737 MAX.
Calhoun's total compensation last year rose 45% to $32.8 million, compared to $22.6 million the year before. But Boeing said the 2023 amount is closer to $23.5 million, because it includes long-term incentives such as stock. Shares of the aircraft manufacturer have fallen nearly 30% this year.
Total compensation for Stan Dale, who was replaced by Boeing last month at the top of its commercial aircraft division, rose 42% to $12.5 million.
Calhoun said last month that he would step down by the end of the year. His departure comes as part of a wide-ranging shake-up in which the company also replaced the chairman of its board of directors and the head of its commercial aircraft unit. The manufacturer is grappling with the fallout from a door seal panel that exploded in midair from a 737 Max plane operated by the company Alaska Airlines In January.
Boeing disclosed her salary, which did not include the $2.8 million 2023 bonus Calhoun declined, and executive compensation, in a filing on Friday. The company said it will now tie executive compensation more closely to safety goals.
“I pledge that I personally, and we as a board, will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to get this company where it needs to be,” Steve Mollenkopf, Boeing's newly appointed chairman, said in a letter to shareholders in a filing on Friday.
The January 5 accident slowed deliveries of new aircraft, and Boeing said it would burn more money than it had previously expected. The company is scheduled to announce first-quarter results on April 24.
Calhoun took the helm of Boeing in January 2020 after his predecessor was fired over his handling of the aftermath of two deadly 737 MAX crashes. In addition to the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the aviation industry, Boeing has also suffered from a range of quality defects in its aircraft. This has slowed deliveries of new planes to customers demanding new planes as travel declines, hurting Boeing's cash flow.
The Alaska Airlines door seal disaster was the most serious problem since the accident. The Justice Department is investigating the Alaska Airlines accident, and the Federal Aviation Administration has put a limit on Boeing 737 Max production until it signs off on Boeing's quality control.
Boeing said on Friday that “operational performance metrics for all business units will focus exclusively on quality and safety goals” this year, and that long-term executive incentives could be reduced to zero if goals are not met.
The last time Boeing recorded annual profits was in 2018.
Clarification: CEO Dave Calhoun's total compensation for 2023 is closer to $23.5 million. An earlier version contained a number that was later updated by Boeing.
