Shareholders in the beleaguered Boeing Co. have elected 12 members to its board of directors despite objections to almost half of them by proxy advisory firms, according to ABC News.
All 12 were nominees backed by Boeing, which is going through a difficult time. Its troubled 737 MAX aircraft has been banned from flying for more than a year now by the Federal Aviation Administration following two separate crashes that killed 346 passengers and crew.
And, like many in the aviation community, Boeing is realizing the devastating financial effects of the global coronavirus outbreak that has brought the airline industry to a virtual halt.
The five board members that advisory firms Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholders Service recommended not to be voted in all served on the board at the time of the development of the 737 MAX.
According to ABC, Glass Lewis said shareholders should reject Chairman Lawrence Kellner, and Institutional Shareholders Service targeted four other longtime directors and told investors to support CEO David Calhoun "with caution."
Kellner and Calhoun took over, respectively, when then-chairman and CEO Dennis Muilenburg was fired in December.
ABC noted that Boeing is expected to apply for a share of $17 billion in low-interest loans that Congress and the Trump administration set aside for defense companies as part of last month's CARES Act stimulus package.
Last week, the manufacturer resumed production in Washington state plants that had been shut down after workers tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19.
How this will affect Boeing in the eyes of Wall Street will be a question that is answered quickly, as the company reports first-quarter earnings on Wednesday. Boeing shares have dropped about 60 percent this year.
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