Boeing ousts defense chief Ted Colbert as firm seeks to right itself

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. Parker is the chief operating officer for Boeing’s $32.7 billion defense sector.

In the memo, Ortberg thanked Colbert for 15 years of service to Boeing. But he also spoke about the need for Boeing — which has had a series of prominent failures over the last year — to do better.

“At this critical juncture, our priority is to restore the trust of our customers and meet the high standards they expect of us to enable their critical missions around the world,” Ortberg said. “Working together we can and will improve our performance and ensure we deliver on our commitments.”

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.

Colbert also stuck firm to the company’s commitment to no longer agree to fixed-price contracts with the Pentagon. Such contracts have led to billions of dollars in losses for Boeing, leading the company to swear them off, even if it meant passing on some major programs like the Survivable Airborne Operations Center, or SAOC.

At the Farnborough Air Show in England in July, Colbert told reporters that the Air Force’s plan for SAOC would have required Boeing to agree to fixed-price elements and other components it felt were unacceptable. He said if the Air Force were to require fixed-price deals for its new collaborative combat aircraft autonomous drones, Boeing would similarly steer clear of that program.

“If it’s a fixed-price development program that requires a ton of maturity … that is a recipe for failure,” Colbert said.

But losses at Boeing Defense continued during Colbert’s tenure. The sector lost $1.8 billion in 2023 and is down $762 million so far in the first half of 2024.

Colbert’s removal marks Ortberg’s first major management change since taking the reins of Boeing last month.

And it comes nearly two weeks after Boeing’s Starliner space capsule returned to Earth from the International Space Station without its crew amid safety concerns.

During Starliner’s June 5 flight to the space station, engineers observed several helium leaks and problems with its thrusters, according to NASA. NASA and Boeing engineers spent nearly three months testing thrusters and reviewing data to try to figure out how to fix the problems. But on Aug. 24, NASA determined it was too risky to fly the two astronauts home on Starliner and opted to instead bring them home on a planned SpaceX mission next February.

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.

Boeing is also reeling from a massive strike declared Sept. 13 by tens of thousands of its machinists, which is also impacting the firm’s defense programs like the KC-46. Ortberg has been speaking directly with workers to try to find a way to resolve the disagreement over issues such as pay and end the strike, the company said. A lengthy strike would harm its production, deliveries and operations.

In July, Boeing pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States over charges stemming from the crashes of two 737 Max aircraft. In January, the door plug of another 737 Max blew out midflight, with videos of the frightening scene aboard going viral. The incidents prompted congressional hearings into Boeing’s safety problems.

Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.

波音公司周五宣布，该公司高管泰德·科尔伯特将立即卸任这家陷入困境的公司的国防部门负责人一职。

波音公司首席执行官凯利·奥特伯格在一份致员工的备忘录中表示，史蒂夫·帕克将暂时领导波音防务、航天与安全部门，直至任命科尔伯特的正式继任者。帕克是波音公司价值327亿美元的国防业务部门的首席运营官。

在备忘录中，奥特伯格感谢科尔伯特为波音公司服务了15年。但他同时也谈到，波音公司——过去一年来遭遇了一系列重大失误——需要做得更好。

“在这个关键时刻，我们的首要任务是重建客户的信任，并达到他们对我们的高标准期望，以支持他们在全球范围内执行关键任务，”奥特伯格说。“通过共同努力，我们能够也必将提升业绩，确保履行我们的承诺。”

科尔伯特在执掌波音全球服务公司后，于2022年3月接管波音国防业务。同年晚些时候，由于营收大幅下滑和质量问题，他对该业务进行了重组。

科尔伯特也坚定地维护了公司不再与五角大楼签订固定价格合同的承诺。此类合同已导致波音公司损失数十亿美元，促使该公司发誓不再签订此类合同，即使这意味着放弃一些重大项目，例如“空中生存作战中心”（SAOC）。

今年7月在英国范堡罗航展上，科尔伯特告诉记者，空军的SAOC计划要求波音公司同意固定价格条款和其他一些他认为无法接受的条件。他表示，如果空军要求其新型协同作战飞机自主无人机项目也采用固定价格协议，波音公司同样会避开该项目。

科尔伯特说：“如果这是一个需要大量成熟度的固定价格开发项目……那注定会失败。”

但在科尔伯特任职期间，波音防务部门的亏损仍在继续。该部门2023年亏损18亿美元，2024年上半年迄今已亏损7.62亿美元。

科尔伯特的离职标志着奥特伯格自上个月接管波音公司以来首次进行重大管理层变动。

而就在两周前，波音公司的“星际客机”太空飞船因安全问题，在未搭载宇航员的情况下从国际空间站返回地球。

据美国宇航局（NASA）称，在“星际航线”（Starliner）飞船6月5日飞往国际空间站的飞行过程中，工程师们发现飞船存在多处氦气泄漏和推进器故障。NASA和波音公司的工程师花了近三个月的时间测试推进器并审查数据，试图找出问题所在。但8月24日，NASA认定使用“星际航线”飞船将两名宇航员送回地球风险过高，因此决定改由SpaceX公司明年2月执行任务将他们送回。

在经历了多年质量和安全问题之后，奥特伯格正努力让波音公司重回正轨。这些问题包括Max客机、KC-46飞马加油机和新型空军一号总统专机，这些问题颠覆了该公司曾经作为航空航天巨头的强大声誉。

波音公司也正遭受9月13日数万名机械师发起的大规模罢工的冲击，这场罢工也影响了该公司的国防项目，例如KC-46加油机。公司表示，奥特伯格一直在与工人直接对话，试图找到解决薪酬等问题分歧并结束罢工的办法。旷日持久的罢工将损害公司的生产、交付和运营。

今年7月，波音公司就两架737 Max飞机坠毁事故引发的欺诈美国政府的指控认罪。今年1月，另一架737 Max飞机的舱门塞在飞行途中突然爆裂，机舱内惊险的一幕视频在网上疯传。这些事件促使国会就波音公司的安全问题举行听证会。

斯蒂芬·洛西是《防务新闻》的空战记者。他此前曾在《空军时报》报道领导层和人事问题，并在Military.com网站报道五角大楼、特种作战和空战。他曾前往中东报道美国空军的行动。