Fired Boeing CEO Muilenburg Will Receive More Than $60M Even As 737 Max Stays Grounded

Boeing has denied severance pay to former CEO Dennis Muilenburg, who was fired last month following the 737 Max crashes and the grounding of the plane. He also forfeited shares and options worth about $14.6 million, the company said in a filing Friday.

But Muilenburg, whose period at the helm saw a severe deterioration in Boeing's culture of engineering excellence that has led to the troubles with the Max and some other key projects, gets to keep stock and pension awards worth more than $60 million.

Muilenburg was described as "Boeing's Teflon CEO" in news reports last year after the company's board continued to reaffirm faith in him even as the timelines he gave for the plane's return to service slipped one after the other. The board was widely seen as not holding Muilenburg to account for the fiasco, amid revelations that showed Boeing's actions during the plane's initial certification and post the crashes seemed to go against its repeated public commitments to the safety of the flying public.

Boeing finally fired Muilenburg last month after indefinitely halting the production of the 737 Max, its once best-selling plane. The company also reassigned thousands of workers from the 737 Max line to other programs.

Its suppliers including Spirit Aerosystems, which makes the fuselages for the Max, have been left reeling from the production halt and are considering layoffs. Many smaller suppliers and sub-contractors are already feeling financial strain and may have to close down.

“Mr. Muilenburg is not entitled to — and did not receive — any severance or separation payments in connection with his retirement after more than 30 years with the company,” Boeing said in the filing.

Muilenburg had joined Boeing as an intern. The stock, options and other holdings that he gets to keep will net him about $80 million after the cost of exercising his current options, CNN reported.

Muilenburg was widely criticized for taking too long ot accept blame for two crashes of the 737 Max that together killed 346 people. The plane, later reports found, was rushed into the market and Boeing tried to hide from the FAA concerns raised by employees about it safety.

The plane continues to be grounded with no timeline on when it will be cleared to fly again. Muilenburg was publicly rebuked by the FAA for statements on when the 737 Max would return to service, which were seen as trying to pressure the FAA to speed up its certification.

David Calhoun, who will replace Muilenburg on Monday, will receive a $7 million bonus if he is able to get the 737 Max to fly again.