Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley resigned from the Boeing Board of Directors, citing her opposition to President Trump’s administration potentially offering financial assistance to key American industries in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
In a letter dated March 16, Haley announced her resignation as a Boeing board member after being nominated for the position a year ago.
Haley cites her economic libertarian principles as the reason she resigned from the Boeing board, writing that she opposes any and all federal aid to American industries suffering in the midst of crisis.
Boeing is already the second-largest beneficiary of Defense Department contracts. In 2017, for example, Boeing noted that about 79 percent of its profits came from government contracts with the U.S. federal government. Likewise, Boeing saved about $1.1 billion thanks to tax cuts.
Haley writes:
I have had the pleasure of working with Boeing for almost ten years now. As South Carolina Governor I came to know the quality of the company, but more importantly, the excellence of the Boeing team and workforce. When I was asked to join the Board of Directors, there was no better team I could think of being a part of.
As Boeing has gone through the difficulties of the MAX, I have appreciated the humility and transparency shown by the team to make sure that when the MAX is back in the air, it will be the safest, strongest plane ever flown. [Emphasis added]
As we encounter the Covid-19 crisis, Boeing, along with many other companies, face another major set of challenges. I want to be part of helping the company as it pushes through it. However, the board and executive team are going in a direction I cannot support. [Emphasis added]
While I know cash is tight, that is equally true for numerous other industries and for millions of small businesses. I cannot support a move to lean on the federal government for a stimulus or bailout that prioritizes our company over others and relies on taxpayers to guarantee our financial position. I have long held strong convictions that this is not the role of government. [Emphasis added]
I strongly believe that when one is part of a team, and one cannot in good faith support the direction of the team, then the proper thing to do is to resign. As such, I hereby resign my position from the Boeing Board. [Empahsis added]
I hope you all know that I will continue to be a strong supporter of Boeing and its workforce. All of you have taught me so much over the past year. Serving with each and every one of you has been a privilege. I value the friendships I have made with all of you.
If I can ever be of help or service to the Boeing team in the future, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Haley’s resignation comes as Trump considers providing federal aid to Boeing amid the coronavirus crisis that has crippled the American airline industry.
“We have to protect Boeing,” Trump said this week. “We absolutely have to help Boeing. They were doing a job well, and all of a sudden this hits. So when the airlines aren’t doing well, Boeing’s not going to be doing well, so we’ll be helping Boeing, yeah.”
At stake are the jobs of thousands of Americans who work at Boeing, specifically the nearly 7,000 American workers many of whom help build the 787 Dreamliner jet in North Charleston, South Carolina. Boeing is Charleston County’s largest private-sector employer.
Haley joined the Boeing Board of Directors last year even as the multinational corporation had a record of outsourcing to foreign countries and offshoring American jobs to foreign workers.
As Breitbart News has chronicled, a report late last year detailed outsourced American software jobs to mostly Indian foreign graduates for $9 an hour. In June 2019, reports stated that Boeing’s recent problems with its 737 Max fleet coincided with executives outsourcing U.S. software jobs to foreign workers through HCL Technologies Ltd. — an India-based outsourcing firm.
Similarly, in 2018, Boeing executives announced their plans to outsource a manufacturing plant to Bengaluru, India, where 3,000 Indian workers would be employed.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder.
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