Boeing said Friday it will suspend dividends for stockholders until further notice and will not pay CEO Dave Calhoun and Board Chairman Larry Kellner for the rest of this year, as it wrestles with a deepening crisis from the coronavirus epidemic compounded by its ongoing problems with the 737 MAX.
The company also said it will continue its pause of any share repurchasing until further notice. Boeing suspended its stock buyback program in April 2019, a month after the grounding of its MAX jet fleet following two crashes in five months.
“Boeing is drawing on all of its resources to sustain operations, support its workforce and customers, and maintain supply chain continuity through the COVID-19 crisis and for the long term,” the company said in a statement announcing the moves late Friday.
The company’s stock buybacks and dividends to shareholders have come under increased criticism since it began campaigning for a federal bailout as the sharp downturn of the airline industry drove its shares to multiyear lows.