Boeing‘s recently departed CEO and President, Dave Calhoun, is set to take part in a one-on-one meeting with an employee who raised concerns about the safety of the company’s planes.
Brian Knowles, an attorney representing over a dozen current and former employees of Boeing, spoke to Newsweek about the upcoming encounter between Calhoun and his client, Sam Mohawk.
No lawyers will be present at the sit-down – expected to take place at some point in mid-September – which Knowles said would allow the pair to “speak freely and have a productive and candid conversation.”
Among other things, he said that this face-to-face would allow Mohawk to express his concerns about Boeing’s corporate culture and cost-cutting approach to manufacturing.
Knowles had been attempting to facilitate a meeting with Calhoun for several weeks, following the former boss’ admission that he should meet with the company’s growing list of whistleblowers.
Mohawk is a quality inspector at the Boeing production facility in Renton, Washington, who alleged that the planemaker had cut corners in its production of the 737 narrow-body airliner.
Knowles previously told Newsweek that his client had observed Boeing leaving “hundreds, if not thousands” of airplane parts in the rain, and that the corroded parts were likely being installed on the aircraft.
According to Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who first publicized his testimony, Mohawk also alleged that Boeing had lost track of parts that were deemed non-compliant, and that he was threatened with retaliation if he did not conceal this evidence from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Knowles hailed the meeting as a “historic moment,” which demonstrates that Boeing is finally willing to “hear the concerns [Mohawk] has expressed.”
“It’s always a good sign when people want to sit down and talk through the issues,” he told Newsweek. “It’s a much better sign than retaliation.”
Newsweek has contacted Boeing for further details on the meeting between Calhoun and Mohawk.
Calhoun no longer serves as the company’s president and CEO, having departed on August 8 after more than four turbulent years in the top job.
However, he will stay on as a special advisor to the board until March, which Knowles said still gives the meeting some significance in dictating the company’s future even if Calhoun no longer oversees the day-to-day operations of the company.
Knowles said that he has also reached out to Boeing regarding a meeting with the new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, but that it may take some to materialize as “[Ortberg] has got a lot on his plate right now.”
When asked about Ortberg, Knowles said he was pleased that Boeing would finally be led by someone from an engineering background. Calhoun was regularly criticized for his background in finance.
He also praised Ortberg’s decision to work out of Boeing’s offices in Seattle, rather than the company’s corporate headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and said this will allow for the “hands-on approach which [Boeing] needs right now.”
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