Spirit AeroSystems [NYSE: SPR] today announced the company will maintain its 737 deliveries to Boeing at the current rate of 52 shipsets per month. This follows the recent announcement by Boeing that it will temporarily adjust its 737 production from 52 to 42 airplanes per month starting in mid-April.
"Spirit and Boeing have agreed to work together to minimize the disruption to Spirit operations and the supply chain," said Tom Gentile, Spirit AeroSystems President and CEO. "This is a challenging time for our industry, and we are working with our customer Boeing to support them as they focus on returning the MAX to service."
Spirit will store accumulated 737 MAX shipsets at its facilities. Those shipsets will then be transferred to Boeing to support their production plan.
"This staggered production approach allows us and our supply base to better prepare for and support 737 production," said Gentile.
Spirit said it will minimize any impact to its full-time workforce by reducing contractors and overtime, and suspending hiring to backfill open positions.