Renton, Washington - After a major plane failure, Boeing has ousted the leader of the 737 Max program at its Renton plant and reshuffled its leadership team at the Commercial Airplanes division, effective immediately.

The moves come more than a month after a Renton, Washington-assembled Max 9 saw a fuselage panel blow out of an Alaska Airlines flight departing Portland, Oregon.

Investigators contend that key bolts were missing from the plane prior to the January 5 blowout, a failure that has increased scrutiny of quality control at Boeing and its suppliers and put intense pressure on company leadership.

Ed Clark, vice president of the Max program and general manager at the Renton facility, will leave the company. He's being replaced by Katie Ringgold, the current vice president 737 delivery operations.

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The changes were announced Wednesday morning in an email to employees by Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief Stan Deal.

Deal wrote that the leadership changes are intended to drive Boeing Commercial Airplanes' "enhanced focus on ensuring that every airplane we deliver meets or exceeds all quality and safety requirements."

Clark took charge of the Max program in 2021 as it returned to service after two fatal crashes had grounded the jets worldwide for almost two years. He was responsible for 737 engineering, supply chain, manufacturing, and other support functions.

Deal wrote in his note that Clark "departs with my, and our, deepest gratitude for his many significant contributions over nearly 18 years of dedicated service to Boeing."

However, an inside source familiar with the decision who asked not to be identified confirmed that Clark's departure was not voluntary.