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David Shepardson
For David Shepardson's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
A Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The Jan. 5 blowout incident plunged Boeing into a new crisis five years after the second of two fatal crashes grounded the MAX.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 28, 2024
How Boeing's leadership was 'fired' by its own customers
With Boeing's major U.S. customers calling for a meeting without CEO Dave Calhoun, the company preempted their demands with a major upheaval.
The assembly line at a production facility for Nio, a maker of electric cars, in Hefei, China, on Dec. 4. U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered an investigation into auto software that could track U.S. drivers, part of a broader effort to stop electric vehicle imports from China.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Mar 2, 2024
The politics and economics behind Biden's China car espionage probe
The U.S. leader's saber-rattling as another opportunity to demonstrate he is tough on China, experts say.
Boeing 737 Max airplanes on the tarmac at the Boeing factory in Renton, Washington, in 2019
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2024
How production pressures plunged Boeing into yet another crisis
Soul-searching about quality controls and plunged Boeing into its second safety crisis in five years.
A Boeing 737 Max 7 during an FAA evaluation flight at Boeing Field in Seattle in September 2020
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2024
How a roller-coaster week left Boeing's credibility on the line
The tumult is not over. U.S. investigators are soon expected to release a preliminary report on the Jan. 5 Alaska Airlines blowout.
Friday's mid-air panel blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight left a gaping hole on the 737 Max 9 plane.
WORLD
Jan 10, 2024
Boeing CEO admits mistakes, says mid-air blowout 'can never happen again'
Dave Calhoun tells employees that the probe on loose parts and broader checks of systems and processes will be done with 'complete transparency every step of the way."
The fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing 737-9 Max, which was forced to make an emergency landing with a gap in the fuselage, is seen during its investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2024
United finds loose bolts on planes, raising pressure on Boeing
U.S. regulators grounded 171 Max 9 planes after a panel blew off an Alaska Airlines-operated flight not long after taking off from a Portland, Oregon, airport
A Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger plane burns on the tarmac at Tokyo's Haneda Airport on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jan 3, 2024
Runway safety concerns in focus as Japan probes Tokyo crash
The collision of two airplanes at Haneda Airport comes just weeks after the global airline industry heard fresh warnings about runway safety.
Striking United Auto Workers union members embrace at the end of their picket shift outside the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
UAW reaches deal with GM, ending strike against Detroit carmakers
Some analysts have said recent deals will place the Detroit Three at a disadvantage compared with Tesla and foreign brands such as Toyota.
Workers picket outside the Ford Assembly plant in Chicago on Oct. 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2023
UAW-Ford deal includes $8 billion in manufacturing investments
The UAW-Ford contract could give workers up to $70,000 in extra pay over the 4½-year life of the contract.
Members of the United Auto Workers outside Ford's Michigan Parts Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Sept. 26. The U.S. auto workers union announced a tentative agreement with the firm late on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 26, 2023
Ford and UAW reach tentative deal to end strike by auto workers
Including compounding and cost of living, worker pay will rise about 33% to over $40 an hour over the life of the contract.
A Cruise driverless car operating in San Francisco. On Tuesday, California regulators ordered Cruise, a General Motors subsidiary, to stop its driverless taxi service in San Francisco after a series of traffic incidents.
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 25, 2023
California sidelines Cruise's driverless cars, citing safety risk
The U.S. state suspended Cruise's autonomous vehicle deployment, saying the company had "misrepresented" the safety of the technology.
The Safran logo outside the company's headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux, near Paris
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 6, 2023
Hunt for suspect jet engine parts spurs call for regulation
False documentation could allow the sale of old or unsafe aircraft parts as new, raising safety concerns
The strikes involving a combined 12,700 workers will take place at assembly plants operated by Ford in Wayne, Michigan, GM in Wentzville, Missouri and Stellantis' Jeep brand in Toledo, Ohio.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 15, 2023
U.S. auto workers launch first simultaneous strike at Detroit Three
The walkouts at the "Detroit Three" — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler — kicks off the most ambitious U.S. industrial labor action in decades.
U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on July 21. On Wednesday, Biden signed an executive order that will prohibit some new U.S. investment in China in sensitive technologies like computer chips, and require government notification in other technology sectors.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 10, 2023
Biden orders ban on U.S. investment in key Chinese technologies
The order restricts investments in semiconductors and microelectronics, quantum information technologies and certain artificial intelligence systems.
Japan Times
WORLD
Jun 5, 2023
Fighter jets chase small plane in Washington area before it crashes in Virginia
The fighter jets prompted a sonic boom over the U.S. capital in an attempt to pursue with the errant Cessna Citation, causing consternation among people in the Washington area.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 30, 2022
Toyota chief says California zero-emissions requirements 'difficult' to meet
Toyota's strategy has been criticized by some environmental groups and investors who want the company to move faster to adopt battery electric vehicles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Jul 23, 2022
Aviation nurses a nasty headache as travel recovers from COVID-19
The aviation industry has turned the page on an unprecedented pandemic shock — only to face mounting worries over supply chains and reminders that its future hinges on decarbonization.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 17, 2022
Boeing cuts 20-year industrywide outlook for planes
Boeing still projects the global airline fleet by 2041 will nearly double as it still sees a worldwide aviation demand COVID-19 recovery by early 2024.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 18, 2022
Major U.S. airline CEOs warn 5G could ground some planes and wreak havoc
The Federal Aviation Administration has warned that potential interference could affect sensitive airplane instruments such as altimeters.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2021
Facebook 'operating in the shadows,' whistleblower says as U.S. lawmakers demand probes
Whistleblower Frances Haugen called for transparency about how Facebook entices users to keep scrolling, creating ample opportunity for advertisers to reach them.

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