Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg offered to give up his bonuses for 2019 as the aerospace giant continues to deal with the fallout from a pair of deadly crashes involving the 737 Max.
Company Chairman David Calhoun told CNBC on Tuesday that Muilenburg said he would forego his bonuses for this year during a phone call Saturday morning.
The call, Calhoun said, was “with a purpose of suggesting that he not take any compensation for 2019 in the form of bonuses, which is of course most of your compensation.”
Muilenburg faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers last week over his salary during a hearing on the failures of the 737 Max, which has been grounded since mid-March following two crashes in a five-month span that killed all 346 passengers on board. Implicated in the incidents was the jet’s anti-stall system, called the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System.
Calhoun said the questions about compensation were “uncomfortable” for Muilenburg, who brought home more than $23 million last year, including a $13.1 million bonus and $7.3 million in stock awards.
[Read: Lawmakers lash Boeing head for making millions in wake of deadly 737 Max crashes]
In addition to giving up his bonuses for 2019, Muilenburg could be foregoing compensation for even longer.
“It came in two fronts: one, no short-, no long-term bonus, and three, no consideration for equity grants until the Max in its entirety is back in the air and flying safely,” Calhoun said, noting such a benchmark may not occur until early 2021.
Calhoun called the offer from Muilenburg a “significant move” but said it was a reflection of his character.
Muilenburg spent two days last week testifying before two congressional panels on the 737 Max crashes, during which he faced calls to resign.
“Are you taking a cut in pay? Are you working for free from now on until you can cure this problem?” Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee asked Muilenburg during his testimony in front of the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday. “These people’s relatives are not coming back. They’re gone. Your salary is still on. Is anybody at Boeing taking a cut or working for free to try to rectify this problem?”
Muilenburg met with family members of those who died in the two crashes and apologized directly to them following his first appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday.
Calhoun said Muilenburg’s meetings with the loved ones “changed him for life.”
It’s unclear when the 737 Max will be given the green light to fly again, and Muilenburg said the return to service “is not going to be timeline driven.”
Boeing completed a software fix for the anti-stall system in May and made additional security enhancements over the summer.
The ongoing grounding has snarled U.S. air travel, as the three carriers that fly the 737 Max were forced to cancel flights into January.
