WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems offered its employees on Monday voluntary layoffs as it grapples with the fallout from the suspension of production for the troubled Boeing 737 Max jetliner.
Chief Executive Officer Tom Gentile told employees in a letter that the voluntary layoffs come as the company lacks “clarity on the timing for resuming MAX production or a firm production rate schedule when it does resume.”
The move comes weeks after Boeing announced the suspension of the 737 MAX program.
Gentile said Spirit will likely have to reduce its workforce, although the letter does not say how many jobs will be lost. It warns of “many difficult decisions in the days and weeks ahead,” The Wichita Eagle reported.
The buyouts will be offered to all eligible employees in Wichita as well as those in Tulsa and McAlestar in Oklahoma, consistent with its collective bargaining agreements.
More than half of Spirit’s revenue comes from the production of 737 aircraft components. The 737 Max was grounded worldwide in March after crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia killed 346 people.
Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems is the city’s largest employer with about 13,000 workers in Wichita and around 1,300 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
“Spirit AeroSystems is evaluating a range of potential actions to reduce costs due to ongoing uncertainty regarding the 737 MAX,” the company said in a statement. “We do not know how long the pause in production will last, or what the production rate will be when it does resume. Part of our effort includes offering a voluntary layoff program for eligible employees. While no final decisions have been made on additional actions, we remain focused on doing what is in the long-term interests of Spirit, its stockholders and other stakeholders, including employees.”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.