Boeing suspends production at Puget Sound until further notice
Boeing announced on 5 April that it is extending the suspension of production in at its plants in the Puget Sound area and Moses Lake until further notice.
It previously confirmed a 14-day closure on 23 March to protect its employees from the coronavirus outbreak. Additional measures including the suspension of production at Ridley Township near Philadelphia were also confirmed on 3 April.
Stan Deal, CEO and President of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said: ‘The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities is our shared priority.’
‘We will take this time to… 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.’
Whilst the Puget Sound facilities are mainly involved with airliner production, the announcement will affect the P-8 and KC-46 lines, which are based on commercial airframes and raises the likelihood that activities in Philadelphia (where the CH-47D and V-22 Osprey are manufactured) may also be under consideration.
Related Programmes in Defence Insight
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Defence Notes
-
How Canada plans to “seize” the opportunity to increase investments in defence
The Canadian Department of National Defence has been increasing efforts to accelerate the acquisition of new equipment and modernise its in-service inventory.
-
Palantir and Boeing partner up to bring AI to defence manufacturing
The partnership with the US airframer will see Palantir’s AI software leveraged to help streamline data analytics across Boeing’s 12 factories on defence and classified programmes.
-
DroneShield to double its US footprint to meet growing demand for counter-UxS capabilities
DroneShield disclosed to Shephard its plans to increase its workforce and manufacturing capacities while strengthening partnerships with US suppliers.
-
Singapore’s DSTA seeks wider partnerships to advance robotics and AI capabilities
The technology organisation is expecting a significant rise in the number of staff working across robotics and digital solutions as it becomes more of a focal point.
-
Modular and attritable equipment must be a priority: US military
Senior officers and representatives from the US Army, US Air Force and US Navy emphasised the need to expedite acquisition projects for systems and platforms that are more modular. They also highlighted that the loss of equipment is acceptable.