24 March 2020:iIn response to escalating COVID-19 pandemic, Boeing has decided to temporarily suspend its Puget Sound area facilities. The operations and projects will reduce the production activity starting today, 24th March and all such operations will be completely suspended from tomorrow. This temporary suspension will last for next 14 days during which Boeing will continue to monitor government guidance and actions on COVID-19 and its associated impacts on all company operations. During this time, there will be additional deep cleaning activities at impacted sites and establishing rigorous criteria for return to work.
These actions are being taken to ensure the well-being of employees, their families and the local community, and will include an orderly shutdown consistent with the requirements of its customers.
"This necessary step protects our employees and the communities where they work and live," said Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun. "We continue to work closely with public health officials, and we're in contact with our customers, suppliers and other stakeholders who are affected by this temporary suspension. We regret the difficulty this will cause them, as well as our employees, but it's vital to maintain health and safety for all those who support our products and services, and to assist in the national effort to combat the spread of COVID-19," Calhoun added.
Puget Sound area-based employees who can work from home will continue to do so. Those who cannot work remotely will receive paid leave for the initial 10 working days of the suspension - double the company policy - which will provide coverage for the 14 calendar day suspension period.
"We will keep our employees, customers and supply chain top of mind as we continue to assess the evolving situation," Calhoun said. "This is an unprecedented time for organizations and communities across the globe."
Once the suspension is lifted, the production will start with a focus on safety, quality and meeting customer commitments as the first step to enable aerospace sector's bridge to recovery.
Boeing is working to minimize this suspension's impact on the company's ability to deliver and support its defence and space programs, and ensure the readiness of our defence customers to perform their vital missions. Boeing will work closely with those customers in the coming days to develop plans that ensure customers are supported throughout this period. Critical distribution operations in support of airline, government, and maintenance, repair and overhaul customers will continue.