Boeing's CEO will resign amid mountain of controversy and bad headlines

Things are going incredibly poorly for Boeing these days. The company's reputation is so bad people are going out of their way to not book flights on its planes.

It makes sense, then, that the CEO said Monday he would resign.

Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun wrote in a letter to employees that he plans to step down at the end of the year. The executive acknowledged mounting safety concerns, specifically citing the recent Alaska Airlines flight where an entire panel of the plane flew off mid-air.

"As you all know, the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident was a watershed moment for Boeing. We must continue to respond to this accident with humility and complete transparency. We also must inculcate a total commitment to safety and quality at every level of our company," Calhoun opened the letter.

He added: "The eyes of the world are on us, and I know we will come through this moment a better company, building on all the learnings we accumulated as we worked together to rebuild Boeing over the last number of years."

There will be a slew of other changes with Boeing's leadership, Calhoun's letter noted, including a new board director and a new CEO of Boeing's commercial airlines division. Calhoun told CNBC that stepping down was "100 percent" his own idea.

It's difficult to list the myriad issues at Boeing recently, but the serious safety concerns began with the two 737 Max crashes that killed 346 people in 2018 and 2019. Ever since, there have been troubling reports on safety and quality procedures at the company.

Calhoun, a longtime Boeing board member, took over as CEO from Dennis Muilenburg in the wake of those accidents in 2020. It's unclear who will take the role with Calhoun stepping down. But what is clear is that they'll have their work cut out for them.