Boeing has restarted production of the B737 MAX after weeks of strike action halted the company’s production activities.
Sources told Reuters last week that the process of restarting production had already begun – around one month after the strike involving 33,000 workers had ended. This was later confirmed by Boeing.
The company said in a statement: “Our team has worked methodically to restart factory operations in the Pacific Northwest.
“We have now resumed 737 production in our Renton factory, with our Everett programmes on plan to follow in the days ahead.”
Being the company’s best-selling aircraft, getting B737 MAX production rolling is an important step for Boeing to ensure it can overcome the financial hurdles that have plagued the company.
The workers’ strike put a dent to Boeing’s trajectory to recovery, so the company has been taking steps in laying off staff across its board, targeting an eventual 10 per cent cut in its global workforce.
In the most recent development, Boeing has announced further layoffs of 396 employees in Washington state, in addition to the previously announced plan to layoff more than 2,100 employees in the state alone.
Washington houses Boeing’s core production facilities divided between Renton and Everett.
After Washington, Missouri will have the greatest number of layoffs at 692 employees, followed by South Carolina at 220.
The company will layoff more than 4,000 workers across the US over the coming months. The majority are expected to take place by mid-January.
Boeing iterates that the measures for letting go of staff are done to “adjust our workforce levels to align with our financial reality and a more focused set of priorities”.
“We are committed to ensuring our employees have support during this challenging time,” the company said.
Workers who have been let go are still expected to be paid for roughly another two months.
They will also receive other benefits such as career transition services and subsidised health insurance.
