Former US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has resigned from the board of Boeing over the plane maker’s efforts to receive federal assistance because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report.
“Ambassador Haley informed the Company that, as a matter of philosophical principle, she does not believe that the Company should seek support from the Federal Government, and therefore decided to resign from the Board,” according to Boeing’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, NPR reported.
In her letter of resignation, the former South Carolina governor wrote, “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,” Haley wrote.
“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.”
President Trump said earlier this week that the government would provide financial assistance to Boeing as the entire aviation sector faces economic turmoil over the pandemic.
Boeing has been struggling to win approval from regulators for its 737 Max to return to service after two fatal crashes in five months.
Widely regarded as a future potential GOP presidential candidate, Haley’s decision to step down from the board could be a way to protect herself from future charges that she backed a taxpayer-funded bailout of a private company, NPR noted.
