The manufacturer is still facing a difficult recovery

Boeing enters another rebuilding year.

A year ago, the company came under fire again for safety and quality concerns in a body panel covering an unused emergency exit door. it blew up From a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines. Although no one was seriously injured, the crash terrified those on board and the plane made a safe emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

The key was the bolts not installed A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the plane was tainted again before it left Boeing’s 737 factory in Renton, Washington. picture brand of US exporter.

Boeing’s stock price is down more than 30% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up about 27%.

Boeing leaders have spent the past 12 months on a major overhaul substitutes in its executive ranks, including a the new chief executivemore intensive training for hundreds of factory workers, many of them new.

On Friday, the company announced progress it has made over the past year, including starting random quality checks at factories. Boeing says it has significantly reduced defects in the 737 fuselage. Spirit AeroSystemswhich takes it backand reduce so-called journey jobs, where tasks associated with building aircraft are sequenced to reduce defects. The manufacturer also said it takes into account much of the feedback from employees during meetings held with management throughout the year.

After the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration increased controls on Boeing, limiting production of its best-selling 737 Max jet, although production is still below those levels. FAA chief Mike Whitaker said he would Resign on January 20warned the company on Friday that “enhanced controls are here to stay.”

He said Boeing’s turnaround was “not a one-year project.”

“What’s needed is a fundamental cultural change at Boeing to put safety and quality ahead of profit. This will require continued effort and commitment from Boeing and unwavering scrutiny on our part,” Whitaker said.

It was the first of two fatal crashes of the 737 Max that year, killing 346 people — Boeing’s worst in recent memory. A flight control system was involved in both accidents and the plane was out of service worldwide for almost two years.

Other quality defects have surfaced over the years, delaying deliveries of the pair of 747s that will serve as the 737 Max, 787 Dreamliner and Air Force One, among others.

Since 2019, Boeing has lost more than $30 billion, and its new CEO is tasked with ensuring Boeing can ramp up production without the glitches that have slowed supplies in the past.

In August, the company brought Kelly Ortbergas Boeing’s new CEO, replacing Dave Calhoun, a former Rockwell Collins CEO with three decades of aerospace experience.

Weeks passed in Ortberg’s position, Boeing machinists went on vacation for nearly two months, a work stoppage that ended after approving a new four-year labor contract with a 38% raise. Some longtime employees were trying to own Boeing restore pensionshowever, this was not part of the new employment contract.

The strike halted production of most Boeing planes, although factories have resumed production in recent weeks. It puts Boeing in the spotlight for another year stabilizer Airbus maintains Boeing’s lead in supply volumes to deliver jets to airlines without further increases in production.

Boeing raised billions this fall to stave off the crisis. Ortberg also said the company would cut About 170,000 people make up 10% of the workforce. The notifications started rolling out late last year. Ortberg said in October that the company should focus on its core businesses and review its portfolio.

“I think we’re better off … doing less and doing more of it than not doing it well,” he said.

He spent the first weeks of his tenure visiting factories and moved to the Seattle area, where most of Boeing’s production is centered, earning the praise of airline executives. he got angry with the company rolling in aircraft deliveries during the post-pandemic travel boom.

Bob Jordan, CEO of all Boeing 737 airlines southwestwarned in an interview last month that Boeing’s recovery was “really quick,” but said he thought Ortberg understood the depth of the company’s problems.

“He’s not looking at it as a Band-Aid. He’s looking at it as a wholesale change to Boeing,” he said.