Boeing to suspend 737 MAX production beginning in January

 

The Boeing Co. (Chicago, Ill., U.S.) announced on Dec. 16 that it is suspending production of the 737 MAX aircraft beginning in January 2020. The company cited longer-than-expected re-certification of the aircraft and noted that the suspension will allow it to focus on delivery of stored aircraft. Further, Boeing says no layoffs or furloughs are planned.

The Boeing 737 MAX single-aisle commercial aircraft was grounded in early 2019 following two crashes that exposed flaws in the plane’s automated flight control system. The planemaker has spent most of 2019 developing a fix and working with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to get the plane re-certified for service.

In a statement, Boeing says, “Safely returning the 737 MAX to service is our top priority. We know that the process of approving the 737 MAX's return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 MAX updates. As we have previously said, the FAA and global regulatory authorities determine the timeline for certification and return to service. We remain fully committed to supporting this process. It is our duty to ensure that every requirement is fulfilled, and every question from our regulators answered.”

Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage. The company has previously stated that it would continually evaluate its production plans should the MAX grounding continue longer than expected. “As a result of this ongoing evaluation,” Boeing says, “we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.”

Boeing says it believes this decision is the least disruptive to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health. Further, it says the decision is driven by a number of factors, including the extension of certification into 2020, uncertainty about the timing and conditions of return to service and global training approvals, and the importance of ensuring that the compay can prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft.

Affected employees will continue 737-related work, or be temporarily assigned to other teams in the company’s Seattle-area manufacturing and assembly facilities. Financial information regarding the production suspension in connection with 4Q 2019 earnings will be released in late January.