Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun has admitted that the company has retaliated against whistleblowers who raised safety concerns. This admission came amid public outrage over the safety of Boeing’s aircraft. During a Senate hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal asked Calhoun about the number of employees Boeing had disciplined or fired for retaliation against whistleblowers. Calhoun’s response was vague but revealing, as he admitted that such retaliation does occur.
This admission has sparked speculation over the deaths of two whistleblowers who had testified against the aerospace company earlier this year. Despite the controversy, Calhoun denied that the safety issue is systemic and dismissed criticism that Boeing has a broken work culture that persecutes whistleblowers and suppresses internal criticism. He claimed that he encourages employees to raise issues, even if they have significant consequences for the company.
However, Calhoun also admitted that he hasn’t spoken to any of the company’s whistleblowers or their families. Some whistleblowers, including John Barnett, who was found dead by suicide this year, claimed they were relentlessly harassed by Boeing management. The case against Boeing is damning, with Blumenthal’s staff having spoken to more than two dozen Boeing whistleblowers, some of whom shared testimony at the hearing for the first time.
Read more: futurism.com