2019 Wasn’t Boeing’s Worst Year. Not Even Close. (From Forbes)

The year just ended was not kind to Boeing. Two crashes of its new 737 Max jetliner resulted in continuous criticism of Boeing management, products and culture. But 2019 was far from being the worst year in the company’s history. In 1934, the federal government forced a breakup of the enterprise. In 1945-46, 70,000 Boeing workers lost their jobs as a result of World War Two ending. A similar number were laid off in the early 1970s due to an economic recession. And in the early 1990s, two 737s crashed due to what later was determined to be a design flaw. Despite these and other crises, though, the company survived and went on to become the biggest aerospace enterprise in history. The latest crisis will be no different. Boeing will be back, and probably sooner than its critics imagine. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.