(NewsNation) — Boeing reported a $355 million loss in the first quarter as the company struggles with a string of high-profile incidents with its planes and is subject to multiple government investigations.
Boeing reported the loss in an earnings call Wednesday, with revenue down 8% from a year ago during the same period. Regulators are investigating the company amid whistleblower reports of a company culture that doesn’t listen to safety concerns raised by employees. Still, the loss was less than feared.
Boeing previously warned investors it expected a loss of between $4 billion and $4.5 billion in the first quarter. It ended March with less than half of what it had at the end of last year in cash and investments, coming in at $7.5 billion.
The company has slowed factory production and cut down production of the 737 Max, a model that has had several incidents in recent months. The company is also facing additional inspections from regulators as they try to identify problems at the factory where the planes are produced.
The call came following announcements of an executive shakeup with CEO Dave Calhoun, who has helmed the company since 2020, set to leave at the end of the year.
A Boeing 747-200 Delta plane declared an emergency upon landing in Atlanta last week due to an issue with a flap. No injuries were reported.
The flap trouble is just the latest in a long line of problems plaguing Boeing in recent months, leading to investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice and National Transportation Safety Board.
The most high-profile event occurred in January when a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 flying over Portland, Oregon. Also in January, an engine on a 747 cargo plane failed during takeoff, and a Boeing 757 lost a nose tire while taking off in Atlanta.
Several whistleblowers have come forward to warn of Boeing’s safety shortcomings.
John Barnett, 62, reported on safety and quality control concerns in the company’s production line but was found dead last month of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A 32-year veteran of Boeing, Barnett’s 2019 whistleblower allegations claimed that overworked employees at its South Carolina plant frequently fitted substandard parts on planes and reported faulty oxygen systems that could result in as many as 1 in 4 oxygen masks not operating properly.
Boeing denied Barnett’s claims, but a follow-up investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration lent credence to some aspects of his allegations. A report found that more than 50 “non-conforming” parts were unable to be traced and were lost in the company’s system.
Sam Salehpour, another whistleblower, said all Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets should be grounded and testified before Congress that he was not listened to when he previously brought up safety concerns to the aerospace company.
Salehpour sent documents to the Federal Aviation Administration amid its investigation into the quality of Boeing’s manufacturing, along with Ed Pierson, a former manager on the Boeing 737 program, and spoke at a hearing for a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey and Evan Lambert contributed to this report.
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