Boeing executive Ted Colbert is out as head of the troubled firm’s defense sector, effective immediately, the company announced Friday. Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s chief executive, said in a memo to employees that Steve Parker will temporarily lead Boeing Defense, Space and Security until a permanent replacement for Colbert is named. Colbert took over Boeing’s defense sector in March 2022 after running Boeing Global Services. Later that year, he reorganized it amid steep revenue losses and quality concerns.
Ortberg thanked Colbert for 15 years of service to Boeing but also emphasized the company’s need to restore customer trust and improve performance. Colbert’s removal marks Ortberg’s first major management change since taking the reins of Boeing last month. The defense sector lost $1.8 billion in 2023 and is down $762 million so far in the first half of 2024.
At the Farnborough Air Show in England in July, Colbert expressed concerns about fixed-price contracts with the Pentagon and their potential for failure. This move comes nearly two weeks after Boeing’s Starliner space capsule returned to Earth from the International Space Station without its crew amid safety concerns. Boeing is also reeling from a massive strike declared Sept. 13 by tens of thousands of its machinists, impacting the firm’s defense programs like the KC-46.
Ortberg is trying to put Boeing back on course after years of quality and safety troubles with aircraft such as the Max airliners, the KC-46 Pegasus refueling tanker, and the new Air Force One presidential transport planes, which upended the company’s once-strong reputation as an aerospace giant. In July, Boeing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States over charges stemming from the crashes of two 737 Max aircraft.
