Don’t think we didn’t see your Friday afternoon news dump United.
BREAKING: United Continental says CEO Oscar Munoz will not become chairman of the company next year, as previously planned.
— Steve Kopack (@SteveKopack) April 21, 2017
This sprang from their filing with the SEC today, and it is a change of plans for the company. They initially had planned for Munoz to become chairman of the board next year, but after dragging a paying customer off a flight, United faced a tsunami of bad press that they handled about as poorly as possible—exemplified by Munoz’s statement that was so absurd it bordered on self-parody.
This response by .@united CEO sounds like a teenager response to an insult. “I’m gonna re-accomodate your face with my fist” pic.twitter.com/lBtBGqDKZQ
— CeejTankGaming (@CeejTankGaming) April 10, 2017
Additionally, United missed their deadline today to answer the Senate’s questions about what exactly happened in that entire ordeal. This is a PR nightmare that the entire company—especially the CEO—has only made worse, so it should come as no surprise that the board is hesitant to let Mr. Re-accommodated become the most powerful man in a company that he helped put on the ropes.
Jacob Weindling is Paste’s business and media editor, as well as a staff writer for politics. Follow him on Twitter at @Jakeweindling.