Boeing's KC-46A Pegasus tanker and maritime patrol P-8 Poseidon production line will be temporarily suspended by Boeing at all Seattle facilities due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
"Boeing plans to begin reducing production activity today and projects that the suspension of these operations will begin on Wednesday, March 25 at locations in the Puget Sound area," the company said in a statement on Monday.
According to the spokesperson, one of the areas that will suspend production are precisely those of Everett and Renton, where the new planes of the US Air Force and US Navy are manufactured.
“We plan to temporarily suspend all production operations, including those related to the P-8 and KC-46A, in the Puget Sound region,” the spokesperson said. “We are actively engaging with our defense customers to minimize any impact to their missions. Certain non-production work for all derivative commercial aircraft programs, including KC-46 remote viewing system enhancements, will continue to be performed by employees who work remotely.”
Some Boeing employees are working in the Home Office scheme, but there are company activities that are not possible with this WHO recommended work method.
“The P-8, KC-46 and other Boeing defense productions in the Puget Sound area are mostly low volume, like about 1-2 a month,” he said. Because of this, it is believed that this time will be recovered when things return to normal.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun also spoke about the suspension of production line activities, for Calhoun, it is a “necessary step” to protect employees of the century-old company.
