In Davos, President Trump Frets About Boeing

Late last year, as Boeing prepared to announce that it was shutting down the 737 factory, Mr. Trump called Mr. Muilenburg again to inquire about the company’s health.

“Many of our stakeholders are rightly disappointed in us, and it’s our job to deliver on our commitments and rebuild their trust,” Boeing said in a statement on Wednesday. “We’re fully focused on the safe return to service of the 737 Max, and we’re taking action across the company to strengthen our safety culture, improve transparency and re-earn the trust of our customers, regulators, government leaders, suppliers and the public.”

At a news conference just before leaving Davos, Mr. Trump brought up Boeing for at least the third time in the day. When asked if he had a timetable for a trade deal with the European Union, Mr. Trump said he did not, and then began talking about the rivalry between Airbus and Boeing, which helped lead to a round of tariffs against European goods last year.

Mr. Trump said Airbus, Boeing’s chief rival, “is doing better than ever because Boeing has not had a good time of it,” adding that Boeing “better start recovering fast.”

“I hope they do,” Mr. Trump said. “They have some good people in there now. They have great people in the company but they have some good people leading it now, so hopefully that’ll be taken care of.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/22/business/trump-boeing-davos-737-max.html?emc=rss&partner=rss