Ohio pension funds sue Boeing for safety failures

October 24th, 2024

Two Ohio pension funds have joined in a lawsuit against Boeing’s board of directors for failing to address ongoing safety issues that have harmed the company and its investors.

The lawsuit, filed by Attorney General Dave Yost on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, accuses Boeing board members of breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to properly oversee the company.

It claims that board members and senior executives, including former CEO Dave Calhoun, failed to implement proper safety measures and ignored whistleblower concerns about the manufacturing company’s production processes.

The move follows a near catastrophe linked to Boeing’s safety and compliance failures, when an Alaska Airlines flight carrying 177 passengers was forced to make an emergency landing after a panel detached from the aircraft shortly after take-off.

The lawsuit argues that board members and senior management were aware of unsafe practices but continued to fail to address them, even now, instead choosing to prioritise profits over safety and regulatory compliance.

It claims this pattern of safety and compliance failures has damaged the company, leading to a drop in its stock price and harming investors, including the pension funds.

Therefore, it seeks to compel Boeing’s board of directors to improve safety and oversight of the company while taking accountability for the repeated safety failures.

Yost said: “The safety failures at Boeing are endangering lives and threatening the financial security of shareholders. Running a safe, respectable company starts with the people at the top – and it’s time for them to be held accountable.”

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