INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Boeing has ousted its boss six days after the company said it was suspending the production of 737 MAX aircraft following two fatal
crashes.The aerospace giant said Dennis Muilenburg had resigned as chief executive and board director with immediate effect.Reuters news
agency reported that Mr Muilenburg may be eligible for nearly $39m in severance
Boeing decline to comment on the figure or whether he would accept it.Announcing the chief executive's departure, the company said: "The
board of directors decided that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the company moving forward as it works to
repair relationships with regulators, customers, and all other stakeholders."It follows a year of intense scrutiny and industrial setbacks
triggered by the two crashes, the company said.Chairman David Calhoun will serve as chief executive and president from 13 January, it
added.Image:Dennis Muilenburg resigned as Boeing's chief executive so the company could "restore confidence" in the company after two fatal
crashesLast Tuesday, the US aircraft maker announced that it would temporarily halt production of the grounded 737 MAX aircraft in
January.The decision was widely seen as a humiliating admission that the fleet's fate lies in the hands of regulators after its own
timetable to return the planes to service dragged by months.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said last week it would not grant
clearance for the planes before 2020.All versions of the 737 MAX were grounded worldwide in March - days after an Ethiopian Airlines plane
came down outside Addis Ababa, and five months after a Lion Air flight suffered a similar fate near Indonesia.A total of 346 people died in
the crashes.Mr Muilenburg has led the company since 2015 but his position has come under increasing pressure following the disasters and in
October he was stripped of his role as chairman while remaining as chief executive.Shares in Boeing rose after the announcement that he was
departing.Image:Part of the wreckage at the scene of the Ethiopian Airlines crashBoeing has been working with US regulators to ensure the
737 MAX aircraft are safe - with modifications focusing on an anti-stall device called the Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System
(MCAS) in the hope of returning the 737 MAX to service.After announcing the suspension of the aircrafts' production, the company said it did
not expect any job losses "at this time", leaving the company under pressure to save costs elsewhere as it grapples a growing bill - last
put at $9bn (£6.8bn).That sum is expected to rise significantly.Image:The Lion Air plane crashed in October 2018 off the coast of
IndonesiaBoeing has continued to produce 737 MAX jets at around 42 per month, while also purchasing parts from suppliers at a rate of up to
52 units per month.Deliveries have been frozen until regulators approve the aircraft to fly commercially again, leaving the company
scrambling to find space to store hundreds of planes.
