Boeing to resume commercialBoeing (NYSE: BA) airplane production in Washington state next week

As the Coronavirus pandemic weighed heavily on travel and tourism and subsequently on the global airline industry, Boeing (NYSE: BA) had decided in favour of suspending production at all of its major facilities in the United States in late March.

In an announcement on Thursday, however, the largest U.S airplane manufacturer said that roughly 27,000 of its workers will return to work on April 20^th as it resumes production of commercial airplanes in Washington state.

Boeing Will Call Workers Back To Factories In Phases

Boeing plans the return of its employees in phases with the first set of workers to be recalled to the factories on Monday. The majority of 27,000 workers, the company added, will be back to work by April 24^th. The airplane manufacturer also highlighted that it will take all necessary precautions and will impose new social distancing measures to enhance the safety of its workers.

Boeing said that it plans on resuming production of its commercial airplanes including 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787. Workers are expected to resume production of the aforementioned airplanes except 787 on April 20^th and April 21^st. Boeing’s employees on the 787 programme, on the other hand, will return to work on April 24^th.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Stan Deal:

The health and safety of our employees, their families and communities is our shared priority. This phased approach ensures we have a reliable supply base, our personal protective equipment is readily available and we have all of the necessary safety measures in place to resume essential work for our customers.”

Owing to the ongoing health emergency, however, the airline industry still remains under pressure. The majority of global airlines have grounded parts of their fleets and have slashed 70% to even 90% of flight schedules.

Boeing’s Customers Cancelled Orders For 150 737 Max

In separate news, Boeing’s customers were reported to have cancelled orders for 150 of its 737 Max jetliner earlier this week that further broadened the financial struggle for the airplane manufacturer.

Following Thursday’s announcement, Boeing was reported more than 8% up in after-hours trading on Thursday. Due to the grounding of its world-renowned, fuel-efficient, 737 Max airliner since March 2019 combined with the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, the U.S airplane manufacturer is currently around 60% down year to date in the stock market.

Its performance in the stock market last year was nearly flat on average. At the time of writing, Boeing has a market cap of £60.69 billion.