The manufacturer still faces a tough recovery

boeing embarks on another year of rebuilding.

A year ago, the company was again in the spotlight over safety and quality concerns when a fuselage panel covering an unused emergency exit door exploded in mid-air from a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines. The crash terrified those on board, although no one was seriously injured and the plane made a safe emergency landing in Portland, Oregon.

The key bolts were not installed before the plane left Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board found, again tarnishing the image of the top U.S. exporter.

Boeing's stock price is down more than 30% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 is up nearly 27%.

Boeing leaders have spent the past 12 months making major changes ranging from replacements in its executive ranks, including a new chief executive, to more robust training for hundreds of factory workers, many of whom are new.

On Friday, the company outlined its progress over the past year, including starting random quality audits at factories. Boeing said it has “significantly” reduced defects in 737 fuselages made by AeroSystems Spiritthat is buying back, and reduce so-called trip work, where tasks to build planes are done out of sequence, in an effort to reduce failures. The manufacturer also said it addressed much of the employee feedback provided during sessions with management throughout the year.

Since the crash, the Federal Aviation Administration has increased its oversight of Boeing, limiting production of its best-selling 737 Max planes, although production is still below those levels. FAA Chief Mike Whitaker, who said he will resign on Jan. 20, warned the company on Friday that “enhanced oversight is here to stay.”

He said Boeing's turnaround “is not a one-year project.”

“What is needed is a fundamental cultural change at Boeing that is geared toward safety and quality over profits. That will require sustained effort and commitment on Boeing's part, and unwavering scrutiny on our part,” Whitaker said. in a statement.

Boeing has not posted an annual profit since 2018.

That year was the first of two fatal crashes of its 737 Max that killed 346 people — Boeing's worst crisis in recent memory. A flight control system was involved in both crashes and the plane was grounded worldwide for nearly two years.

Other quality defects emerged over the years, delaying aircraft deliveries of the 737 Max, the 787 Dreamliner and the pair of 747s that will serve as Air Force One, among others.

Since 2019, Boeing has lost more than $30 billion and its new CEO is tasked with ensuring Boeing can ramp up production without the defects that have slowed deliveries in the past.

In August, the company hired Kelly Ortberg, a former Rockwell Collins CEO with three decades of experience in the aerospace sector, as Boeing's new CEO, replacing Dave Calhoun.

Weeks into Ortberg's tenure, Boeing machinists went on strike for nearly two months, a work stoppage that ended after they approved a new four-year labor agreement with 38% raises. Some former workers tried to get Boeing to reinstate pensions, but that was not part of the new labor agreement.

The strike, however, paralyzed production of most Boeing planes, although factories have resumed production in recent weeks. It is setting up Boeing for another year of focusing on stabilizing production to get planes to airlines before ramping up further, as Airbus continues to lead Boeing's delivery volumes.

Boeing raised billions this fall to stave off the crisis. Ortberg also said the company would cut 10% of its workforce of about 170,000 people. The ads began running late last year. Ortberg said in October that the company should focus on its core businesses and would review its portfolio.

“I think we're better off…doing less and doing it better than doing more and not doing it well,” he said in his first earnings call in October.

He spent the first weeks of his tenure visiting factories and moved to the Seattle area, where most of Boeing's production is focused, and won praise from airline executives who had become exasperated with the delivery of Boeing planes. company during the post-pandemic travel boom.

Bob Jordan, CEO of Boeing 737 airline SouthwestHe warned in an interview last month that it is “very early” in Boeing's recovery, but said he believes Ortberg understands the depth of the problems at the company.

“He's not seeing this as a Band-Aid. He's seeing it as a complete shift toward Boeing,” he said.