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From a widespread worker strike, to falling share prices, and some planes that whistleblowers claim could “break apart,” Boeing can’t seem to get back on track. Now, its new CEO has disbanded its DE&I team, Bloomberg reported.
Sara Liang Bowen, who led DE&I at Boeing since 2019, has left the company. The rest of the team will be absorbed by another HR department.
“...behind every [DE&I] effort there has been a person: An unheard voice, an idea waiting to bloom. The people make the company what it is, and it’s the people who will restore it to a state of trusted excellence,” Bowen said in a LinkedIn post announcing her departure.
The move comes as CEO Kelly Ortberg, who joined in August, tries to cut costs, with plans to reduce headcount by 10%.
Conservative activists including Robby Starbuck and Elon Musk have blamed DE&I for Boeing’s problems. Texas’ attorney general, Ken Paxton, believes the company’s efforts to diversify its suppliers have resulted in safety issues, requesting that Boeing share the details of its DE&I efforts with a Texas court as part of an investigation into its manufacturing practices.
Boeing claimed that, despite disbanding its DE&I team, inclusion efforts will continue. However, it appears to have walked back its pledge to have 20% Black representation by 2025, and has been leaning into language often used by anti-DE&I activists.
“Boeing remains committed to recruiting and retaining top talent and creating an inclusive work environment where every teammate around the world can perform at their best while supporting the company’s mission,” Boeing said in a statement to Bloomberg. The company added that it doesn’t tolerate discrimination, and runs on “a merit-based performance system with procedures aimed at encouraging an equality of opportunity, not of outcomes.”
Boeing did not respond to HR Brew’s request for comment by the time of publication.