Boeing to continue production shutdown due to coronavirus

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

SEATTLE (AP) — Boeing said Sunday it will continue its shutdown of production indefinitely at its Seattle area facilities due to the spread of the coronavirus.

The company in an email to Washington employees said it is extending the planned two-week shutdown rather than reopening Wednesday. The decision affects about 30,000 of Boeing’s 70,000 employees in the state.

The company said the decision is based on the health and safety of its employees, assessment of the coronavirus spread, supply chain concerns and recommendations from government health officials.

“The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities is our shared priority,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal. “We will take this time to continue to listen to our incredible team, and assess applicable government direction, the spread of the coronavirus in the community, and the reliability of our suppliers to ensure we are ready for a safe and orderly return to operations.”



FILE - In this Monday, March 23, 2020, file photo, a worker walks near a mural of a Boeing 747-8 airplane at the company's manufacturing facility in Everett, Wash., north of Seattle. In an email to Washington employees on Sunday, April 5, 2020, the company says due to coronavirus concerns, it is extending a planned two-week shutdown rather than reopening Wednesday, April 8. The decision affects about 30,000 of Boeing's 70,000 employees in the state. Employees are receiving their regular salaries during the two-week shutdown, but will have to transition to vacation or sick leave after that. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)


Read more: https://apnews.com/91326f19cd7ef24aa79fff05c75553e4

[turbinetree]

1. This is going into a recession time and down into a depression, know matter what you think of

Boeing this is going to hurt and the supply chain operations of a lot of companies that support the OEM and buyers and leasing companies.....................

[CaptYossarian]

2. Why don't they retool for a few weeks and make ventilators?

Their stock might "soar" once again.

[Igel]

3. Why doesn't Burger King?

It's not that easy. Specialized equipment, restructuring the actual assembly lines. It would takes weeks. And the peak for NYC is supposed to be by next weekend and by early June they should be experimenting with unmothballing the city; for Texas it's early May, and delocking-down starts in early-ish July. By July 15, it's over. Some places like North Dakota might not even need to lock down, a more minimal approach might just work there.

People have focused on ventilators mostly out of politics and fear or panic. We probably won't have enough. But some projections have the total number of ventilators needed for the country being less than what Cuomo is calling for for just New York. We have that many.

[CaptYossarian]

4. I was merely looking at GM's ability to switch over.

There's also the retraining of employees on the new machinery too.