Boeing has reportedly dismantled its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) department, reassigning staff from the division as part of a sweeping workforce overhaul.
Vice President Sara Lian Bowen, who led the DEI initiative, has also left, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The move signals a shift away from what Boeing critics mock as the company’s previous “woke” agenda.
Despite pledging to increase Black employment by 20% and to focus on more minority hiring, Boeing seems to be hitting “delete” on DEI initiatives as it faces financial troubles and a workforce predominantly made up of engineers focused on flying planes, not pushing equity spreadsheets.
Robby Starbuck, an anti-DEI activist, hinted last month that he would target Boeing next in his crusade against DEI programmes. Starbuck claimed that DEI programmes across corporate America “discriminate against white men” and are “one step away from becoming a reality TV segment.”
Meanwhile, Boeing insists it’s committed to an “inclusive environment” without “discriminatory hiring,” emphasising instead a “merit-based performance system.”
Boeing’s CEO, Kelly Ortberg, launched the restructuring to reduce costs after facing serious setbacks from safety flaws and an ongoing worker strike over wages.
Boeing plans to cut roughly 10% of its workforce, or about 17,000 jobs.
Ortberg noted in a memo that “structural changes” are essential to keep the company competitive, adding, “It’s hard to overstate the challenges we face together,” but perhaps DEI isn’t one of them anymore.
The meaning of the word inclusive obviously means the opposite these days, has it been changed in the dictionary just like they changed the meaning of the word vaccine??? Must have been coz inclusive does not include the critical thinkers ie the unjabbed…
The end.
The start of the end for Boeing was in 1997 when Boeing purchased McDonald Douglas. Before this all the Boeing managers were former degree educated engineers or former shop floor workers, so they all knew how to build an aircraft: The Boeing managers could talk easily with the shop floor and understand any problems. After 1997, the Boeing “engineering” managers were replaced by McDonald Douglas “money men” whose sole focus was getting the “product” out of the door quickly to make more money for the shareholders. They also separated out the management and the manufacture to separate sites so that the shop floor could no longer easily talk to the managers about problems.
The joke is that McDonald Douglas purchased Boeing with Boeing money.
Since then, we’ve seen all the problems – the MCAS overriding the FCS and causing crashes, battery fires, doors blowing out, tires coming off landing gear on takeoff.
DEI is just the final “nail in the coffin”.
The real problem for Boeing, in my opinion, will be a slow death as existing carriers think about purchasing their next aircraft and have a toss-up between Boeing and Airbus. They will think about all the Boeing problems and then choose Airbus. Just don’t mention the engine oil pipe in the A380 …
“nail in the coffin” ? it seems not, there might be a way out, or is the rot too deep, have to wait and see.
Merit based workforce, now that’s a novel idea?
Line up a bunch of blue and purple haired muppets and their mouthy globalist political supporters and offer them two free flights. One on a plane maintained by a diversity hire engineering crew, the other a crew hired on merit (competence). No bets which plane the hypocrites will choose…….
Spilled my coffee but still love your commnts.