Boeing's Deadly Cost-Cutting Culture Exposed in 'Freefall' Documentary

The documentary 'Freefall' on Netflix chronicles the tragic failures of aeroplane company Boeing, shedding light on the human cost of corporate greed.

Jim McNerney became CEO in 2005, bringing with him a focus on cost-cutting measures inspired by his mentor Jack Welch, who developed the strategy of 'rank and yank', where the bottom-performing 10% of managers would be fired annually while the top 20% were rewarded.

This approach led to drastic headcount reductions at GE during Welch's tenure, and McNerney applied similar measures at Boeing, prioritizing profits over quality control. The results were disastrous.

Boeing began sourcing parts for planes from across the world, including non-unionized South Carolina, where 'anyone who could use a screwdriver' was hired. Whistleblowers spoke out about poorly trained staff and fuselage sections that didn't match up, but their complaints fell on deaf ears.

Two 737 Max crashes in 2018 and 2019 resulted in the deaths of 346 people, with Boeing grounding its planes for almost two years. A $1.2 billion fine was issued, and bereaved relatives continue to fight for justice.