Boeing Fires 65 Employees, Disciplines 53 More For ‘Racist And Hateful Conduct’ Following George Floyd Death

In the last 12 months, Boeing has fired 65 employees and disciplined 53 others over ‘racist, discriminatory and hateful behavior,’ according to the Daily Mail, citing a Friday ‘Equity, Diversity & Inclusion’ report from the Chicag-based company’s CEO, David Calhoun.

“As we have witnessed horrific images in the news and heard heartbreaking stories from our people, our determination to advance equity, diversity and inclusion has only become stronger,” reads the statement – which follows the company’s June 2020 ‘zero-tolerance’ policy implemented in June 2020 following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.

“There is no place for hate within our company, and we will keep expecting the best from everyone in their interactions with one another,” Calhoun continued.

Meanwhile, the company outlined its diversity plans in its August 2020 “Racial Equity Action Plan.”

Notably, of the company’s 140,000 employees, 66.8% are white, 6.4% are black, 14.2% are Asian, 7% are hispanic, and 3.6% are listed as ‘more.’

According to Calhoun, the company will increase black representation to 20% by 2025, just 3.5 years from now. This means Boeing will hire over 19,000 black workers in either a massive expansion of headcount, or at the expense of workers of other races.

“This work is a business imperative for us, because diversity and inclusion make us better in every way; when everyone has a voice, everyone is inspired to succeed together,” reads the report. “As we resolve to do better, the gaps we see in our representation show us where we must focus our efforts to address disparities.“

Meanwhile, Boeing is currently being sued by a black employee claiming a hostile environment at a South Carolina plant because a supervisor assigned black employees to work in ‘undesirable’ and hazardous areas of a plant, while white employees were sent to more ‘desirable’ locations, according to Forbes.