Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley is critical of aerospace manufacturer Boeing for its plans to lay off nearly 700 Missouri workers beginning in January. He said the decision is unfair to Missourians losing jobs when company executives get paid so much while “running the company into the ground.”
“I’ve had the Boeing CEO testify in front of me this past year and I can’t emphasize enough how derelict in his responsibilities I believe he has been,” Hawley told Missourinet. “This is a guy who is making 24, 25, 26-million-dollars. They’ve got a new CEO coming in now who’s going to make about that much, while they’re laying off employees who are the ones who build this company.”
The company’s decision will affect nearly 700 employees at its St. Charles, St. Louis, Berkeley, Hazelwood, Kansas City, Kingsville, Maryland Heights, O’Fallon, and St. Ann locations.
After a door plug blew off a 737 MAX last January and caused uncontrolled decompression, Hawley criticized former CEO Dave Calhoun over the summer for prioritizing profit over safety and transparency. He accused him of “cutting corners,” eliminating safety procedures, and “compromising the well-being of employees and passengers.”
“This company has been dramatically mismanaged and ill served by their leadership who have cut corners, who have squeezed every dime of profit out of the company and out of their workers while they have run it into the ground,” he said. “I tell you what, this is, it is hard to watch.”
Missouri U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt is blaming Thursday’s layoff announcement by Boeing on problems with things like finances and its 737 MAX jet. He said that he is going to do everything he can to help the affected workers.
“My hope is that they find a better path forward we can get these folks rehired somewhere else, but also maybe back at Boeing as they can increase production on things like the F-15EX and potentially win the bid on the next generation fighters that we’re certainly trying to make sure is in the NDAA,” Schmitt told Missourinet.
The NDAA is a national defense spending bill.
Boeing has nearly 17,000 workers in the St. Louis area.
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