March 7 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) said on Thursday it is

overhauling how it pays employee bonuses to emphasize quality

and safety, with this year's operational goals exclusively

focused on these two components.

This announcement comes as the planemaker has scrambled to

explain and strengthen safety procedures after a door panel

detached during a Jan. 5 flight on a brand new Alaska Airlines

737 MAX 9.

Under the new annual incentive plans, which will cover

executives, managers and employees, safety and quality metrics

will now account for 60% of the payout at Boeing's ( BA ) commercial

unit, the company said in an email to Reuters.

The Boeing Commercial Airplanes (BCA) unit manufactures

commercial aircraft, including the 737, 747 and 787, among

others.

"It's very, very important to drive the outcomes that we're

all committed to, and that's to deliver a safe and quality

product to our customer," Boeing ( BA ) COO Stephanie Pope told

employees in a webcast.

These operational safety and quality metrics will include

employee safety, traveled work, rework and completing work

needed to deliver airplanes in inventory, Boeing ( BA ) said.

Earlier at the BCA, financial incentives comprised 75% of

the annual award, while the remaining 25% was tied to

operational objectives including quality and safety.

Boeing ( BA ) said all employees will be required to complete

training courses on product safety and quality management as a

pre-condition to receiving any annual incentives.

In Boeing's ( BA ) other two units, defense and services, financial

metrics will still determine 75% of bonuses. But quality and

safety will be the only factors to determine the operational

scores, the company said.

The Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, had barred

Boeing ( BA ) from expanding 737 production in January, saying "the

quality assurance issues we have seen are unacceptable."

WSJ first reported on the annual bonuses earlier on

Thursday, saying the move applies to Boeing's ( BA ) nonunion workforce

of more than 100,000 employees.