Boeing stalls production of 737 MAX from January 2020

Dec 17, 2019: Global aircraft manufacturer Boeing has shelved the production of the struggling 737 MAX aircraft from January.

It’s unclear how long the production halt will last, and Boeing says it doesn’t expect the halt to result in layoffs or furloughs. Boeing says it would rather “prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program” in order to maintain “long-term production system and supply chain health.”

“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,” the company said in a statement.

Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage. According to the company this decision is “least disruptive to maintaining long-term production system and supply chain health.”