Air Force to Review Boeing Severance Pay

An Air Force panel will look into a charge that Boeing Corp. made $480,000 in improper severance payments to employees leaving for Pentagon jobs, an Air Force official confirmed Saturday.

The allegation is one of several matters on the agenda for a Monday meeting of the Air Force Suspensions and Debarments Board, according to the aide, who requested anonymity.

The board is unlikely to take any action on the case as a result of its Monday session, which will be a preliminary hearing, he said.

Suspension of Boeing, the nation’s fifth-largest military contractor, from doing business with the Defense Department is not being considered, the spokesman said, although the board does have the authority to take such action.

A Justice Department lawsuit charges that Boeing made the severance payments, ranging from $40,000 to $183,000, only to a few key employees who were headed for jobs in the federal government, the Washington Post reported.