Washington – US aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Monday said it will temporarily suspend production of its troubled 737 MAX jets in January after the model was connected to deadly accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia.
“Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage,” the company said in a statement.
“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 program beginning next month.”
Boeing’s statement did not say how long the production halt would last, but noted there would be no layoffs or furloughs “expected at this time.”
