Boeing has announced that it will suspend production of the troubled 737 MAX family of aircraft in January 2020. Since the 737 MAX was grounded in March 2019, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 planes in storage.
Boeing in a statement issued on Monday said, “We have previously stated that we would continually evaluate our production plans should the MAX grounding continue longer than we expected. As a result of this ongoing evaluation, we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 programme beginning next month. We believe this decision is least disruptive to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health.”
The company has said that affected employees will either continue 737-related work or will be temporarily assigned to other teams in Puget Sound.
Boeing said that the decision to stop production has been “driven by a number of factors, including the extension of certification into 2020, the uncertainty about the timing and conditions of return to service and global training approvals, and the importance of ensuring that we can prioritise the delivery of stored aircraft. We will continue to assess our progress towards return to service milestones and make determinations about resuming production and deliveries accordingly.”
