Trust is the first thing Boeing needs to restore

As an outsider looking at Boeing, I find it quite clear that trust is the critical element that needs to be restored at Boeing. For most industry participants, it is evident that Boeing has lost their trust in recent years. The impacts of that loss of trust engendered Boeing’s multi-year downward spiral. Let’s examine some of the groups Boeing

has lost trust with and what that means for the company’s future.

Several key groups have lost trust, including employees, suppliers, customers, regulators, shareholders, and the financial community. Restoring their trust will be key to whether a turnaround at Boeing is possible or the company’s downward spiral will continue.  Kelly Ortberg has inherited problematic relationships with multiple groups, and his leadership will determine the company’s future.

Employees

The good news is that the IAM strike is over, enabling Boeing to begin its turnaround plan and resume production of 737MAX, 767, and 777 models produced in the Pacific Northwest. The bad news is that this never should have occurred. One of Boeing’s problems, particularly in retaining manufacturing talent, was low wages as the company took advantage of unfavorable market conditions to negotiate contracts favorable to the company with the IAM.