Boeing CEO doesn’t think company ‘fully turned,’ but is ‘turning’

Boeing (BA) CEO Kelly Ortberg stated while speaking at Morgan Stanley’s Laguna Conference, according to a transcript of the event: “Our organization is rallying around these new values. And so, you know, we just got to keep that going. Having said that, this is a multiyear, you know, you don’t change your culture overnight. And we’re 170,000 people. So it’s a big ship to get turned. But I feel like we are turning. I don’t think we’ve fully turned, but I think we’re turning.” The CEO went on to state that Boeing is “certainly still planning to be producing at 42 a month by the end of the year,” adding: “I feel really good about where we are for this next rate increase. So going from 38 to 42, we’ve got a lot of inventory. Inventory is going to buffer. Even if we do have any supply chain challenges, which right now I don’t see the supply chain challenges for us, any major ones going from 38 to 42. Then, as you know, we’ve got more rate increases in our plan. So we’ll go from 42 and then we’ll go up another five and we’ll go up another five. I think where we’ll get to where that inventory is more balanced with the supply chain, probably around the 47 a month production rate. And, you know, we’ll see how well the supply chain aligns there.”