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In reply to the discussion: 'If anything happens to me, it's not suicide,' dead Boeing whistleblower to friend. [View all]Kid Berwyn
(15,486 posts)53. Boeing-McDonnell Douglas 1997 merger deserves scrutiny.
The 1997 merger that paved the way for the Boeing 737 Max crisis
By Natasha Frost
QZ.com, January 3, 2020
Late in the summer of 1997, two of the most critical players in global aviation became a single tremendous titan. Boeing, one of the USs largest and most important companies, acquired its longtime plane manufacturer rival, McDonnell Douglas, in what was then the countrys tenth-largest merger. The resulting giant took Boeings name. More unexpectedly, it took its culture and strategy from McDonnell Douglaseven its commercial aviation department was struggling to retain customers.
Reporting on the deal, the New York Times made an observation that now seems prescient: The full effect of the proposed merger on employees, communities, competitors, customers and investors will not be known for months, maybe even years. Nearly 20 years later, one such effect has become the aviation story of the year, or perhaps the decadethe crashes of two 737 Max jets and the loss of 346 lives, not to mention the still-rising associated costs of around $10 billion.
In a clash of corporate cultures, where Boeings engineers and McDonnell Douglass bean-counters went head-to-head, the smaller company won out. The result was a move away from expensive, ground-breaking engineering and toward what some called a more cut-throat culture, devoted to keeping costs down and favoring upgrading older models at the expense of wholesale innovation. Only now, with the 737 indefinitely grounded, are we beginning to see the scale of its effects.
The fatal fault line was the McDonnell Douglas takeover, says Clive Irving, author of Jumbo: The Making of the Boeing 747. Although Boeing was supposed to take over McDonnell Douglas, it ended up the other way around.
Continues
https://qz.com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis
PS: Agree completely: we must support Whistleblowers and all truth tellers including when we dont agree with their positions. Adult citizens should be able and willing to handle the truth.
By Natasha Frost
QZ.com, January 3, 2020
Late in the summer of 1997, two of the most critical players in global aviation became a single tremendous titan. Boeing, one of the USs largest and most important companies, acquired its longtime plane manufacturer rival, McDonnell Douglas, in what was then the countrys tenth-largest merger. The resulting giant took Boeings name. More unexpectedly, it took its culture and strategy from McDonnell Douglaseven its commercial aviation department was struggling to retain customers.
Reporting on the deal, the New York Times made an observation that now seems prescient: The full effect of the proposed merger on employees, communities, competitors, customers and investors will not be known for months, maybe even years. Nearly 20 years later, one such effect has become the aviation story of the year, or perhaps the decadethe crashes of two 737 Max jets and the loss of 346 lives, not to mention the still-rising associated costs of around $10 billion.
In a clash of corporate cultures, where Boeings engineers and McDonnell Douglass bean-counters went head-to-head, the smaller company won out. The result was a move away from expensive, ground-breaking engineering and toward what some called a more cut-throat culture, devoted to keeping costs down and favoring upgrading older models at the expense of wholesale innovation. Only now, with the 737 indefinitely grounded, are we beginning to see the scale of its effects.
The fatal fault line was the McDonnell Douglas takeover, says Clive Irving, author of Jumbo: The Making of the Boeing 747. Although Boeing was supposed to take over McDonnell Douglas, it ended up the other way around.
Continues
https://qz.com/1776080/how-the-mcdonnell-douglas-boeing-merger-led-to-the-737-max-crisis
PS: Agree completely: we must support Whistleblowers and all truth tellers including when we dont agree with their positions. Adult citizens should be able and willing to handle the truth.
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'If anything happens to me, it's not suicide,' dead Boeing whistleblower to friend. [View all]
Kid Berwyn
Mar 15
OP
Welcome to Putin's America. Where the guys with the money can make all problems disappear.
sinkingfeeling
Mar 15
#5
"This is very critical stuff," Barnett said in an interview with Australian TV.
Kid Berwyn
Mar 15
#41
I support all whistleblowers, especially when I have "taxpayer skin" in the game.
Magoo48
Mar 15
#19
Well, if he isn't a Russian agent being paid half a million dollars to smear the Biden's....
TheRealNorth
Mar 15
#46
Same for him as the DC Madam, and the data master who was testifying about how W really got elected.
Ford_Prefect
Mar 15
#24
Challenge our Corporate State at your peril. No wonder our Corporate State Reps fall in line.
jalan48
Mar 15
#26
They left the pistol in his hand. Big mistake. Head shot suicides drop the gun after it's fired.
ZonkerHarris
Mar 15
#29