Boeing Indefinitely Extends Shutdown of Washington State Factories Over COVID-19 Pandemic

Boeing has stated it should indefinitely prolong a shutdown at its factories in Washington state due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The aerospace large had already halted manufacturing at its Puget Sound facility close to Seattle, the place the corporate builds the long-range 777 jet and different fashions, after saying a two-week stoppage final month.

It had additionally shut its different main state manufacturing facility at Moses Lake due to the 737 MAX grounding.

Boeing introduced Sunday that the shutdown would proceed indefinitely in an effort to guard employees from COVID-19, which has already claimed the life of 1 worker on the firm’s Everett facility.

“The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities is our shared priority,” Boeing’s business airplanes division president Stan Deal stated in a press release.

Boeing was already going through important headwinds previous to the coronavirus pandemic due to the disaster surrounding the 737 MAX, which has been grounded for greater than a yr following two deadly crashes.

But the pandemic has additional hit the corporate’s outlook with most business airline journey suspended and main carriers thrust right into a life-or-death battle.

The firm is in search of greater than $60 billion in federal assist for the US aerospace trade within the wake of the 2 crises.

It introduced a voluntary employee layoff plan on Thursday and stated it anticipated “several thousand employees” to take a severance package deal or retire.

Boeing at present employs round 70,000 folks in Washington state.