US prosecutors have recommended that the Department of Justice (DoJ) brings criminal charges against Boeing.
It follows a claim by the DoJ that the plane maker had violated a settlement related to two fatal crashes involving its 737 Max aircraft which killed 346 people.
Boeing declined to comment when contacted by the BBC but previously it has denied violating the deferred prosecution agreement.
The DoJ has until 7 July to make a final decision on whether to prosecute the company. The DoJ has been contacted for comment.
The recommendation is not a final decision and the details of any potential criminal action are not known, according to CBS, the BBC’s US partner.
"This is a really critical decision that is coming up,” said Ed Pierson, who is the executive director of the Foundation for Aviation Safety and a former senior manager at Boeing.
I don’t want Boeing to face charges. I want the people in charge of Boeing to.
There should be consequences for companies (and specifically the leadership) that cause danger to innocent lives in their pursuit of profit over all else.
Good time to prove deferred prosecutions aren’t complete capitalist bullshit and a legal fiction
As much as I would love to see consequences for their actions, I wouldn’t hold your breath…
If Boeing faces criminal charges, the potential consequences could be severe:
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Financial penalties: Boeing could face substantial fines beyond the $2.5 billion settlement they previously agreed to. Victims’ families have urged prosecutors to seek a nearly $25 billion fine[1].
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Business restrictions: A guilty plea could lead to additional limitations on Boeing’s operations and jeopardize its significant revenue from US government contracts, including those with the Defense Department[1].
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Reputational damage: Criminal charges would further tarnish Boeing’s image, potentially affecting customer trust and market share in the highly competitive aerospace industry.
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Stricter oversight: The Justice Department might impose more rigorous compliance measures, potentially including the installation of a third-party monitor to oversee Boeing’s adherence to regulations[1].
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Admission of wrongdoing: Boeing might be forced to plead guilty, officially acknowledging its misconduct[1].
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Leadership changes: Criminal charges could lead to pressure for further leadership changes, following the recent announcement of CEO David Calhoun’s upcoming resignation[2].
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Legal vulnerability: A criminal conviction could make Boeing more susceptible to civil lawsuits from affected parties[3].
In my opinion, not good enough. There are specific executives that made the decisions we’re suffering the consequences of now. They should be spending the rest of their lives in a federal prison for their greed.
Citations: [1] US prosecutors advise criminal charges against Boeing for … https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/business/boeing-might-face-criminal-charges-in-us/story [2] DoJ prosecutors recommend Boeing face criminal charges, reports … https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/boeing-crash-doj-charges-plane-b2567688.html [3] Boeing could face criminal charges after violating a deal … - Fortune https://fortune.com/2024/05/14/boeing-criminal-charges-violating-deal-regulators/ [4] Report: DOJ to decide if Boeing will face criminal charges … - KING 5 https://www.king5.com/article/tech/science/aerospace/boeing/boeing-may-avoid-criminal-charges-no-decision-made/281-e0e54e4d-1a1e-4d17-a04c-54940fc9834c [5] Federal prosecutors recommend to Justice Department that Boeing … https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boeing-criminal-charges-recommendation/
I agree with all except number 3. The aerospace manufacturing industry is not competitive at all. It is a market cornered by Boeing and Airbus, with a very few small players feeding specific components to the Big 2.
This is a huge point. My wife made an off-hand comment about Boeing looking like a good take-over target for Airbus, and my response was, “never. Then there would be only one airline maker in the world.”
There are exactly two manufacturers of large passenger jet liners. It’s not even a question of too big to fail; it’s far worse than that.
Personally, I think they’re going about this the wrong way. You could prosecute executives for past decisions, but they were just doing the job they were hired for: maximize profits over every other consideration. The ones that didn’t, got replaced by ones that did.
For companies like Boeing, we need a different model of capitalism. One where engineers can be in charge, and the metrics for success are dominated by something other than sheer profitability. I don’t know; it seems as if we used to know how to do capitalism better. We had a functioning, funded, effective NASA, which operated almost entirely outside of The Market and which was a national pride; now it’s overshadowed by SpaceX. Boeing made good planes.
I don’t have a solution, but I can tell that we’ve gotten lost somewhere along the way.
The only way to make it not profits driven is probably government control. But if it really is one of two companies that make aircraft I don’t think that’s a good idea.
Maybe break it up into different companies that focus on certain sectors of aviation? Force them to compete if they won’t do it naturally.
Does anyone else notice missing comments here?
There were comments here yesterday.
