US aerospace giant Boeing announced on April 6 that it was going to suspend activities at its Boeing South Carolina (BSC) facilities with effect from the end of the second shift on April 8. The suspension was until further notice.
BSC is primarily focused on production of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and major assemblies for this aircraft, and is the second final assembly and delivery facility for the airliner. It also produced parts for the Boeing 737 MAX and the Boeing 777X and hosted the Boeing Research & Technology Centre.
“It is our commitment to focus on the health and safety of our teammates [employees] while assessing the spread of the virus across the state, its impact on the reliability of our global supply chain and that ripple effect on the 787 programme,” affirms Boeing VP, 787 Programme GM and BSC site leader Brad Zaback. “We are working in alignment with state and local government officials and public health officials to take actions that best protect our people.”
Employees at BSC who can work from home will do so. Those who can not will be given ten working days paid leave. This is twice that provided for in company policy.
“After 10 days, teammates will have the option to use a combination of available paid time off benefits or file for emergency state unemployment benefits,” stated the company in its press release. “All benefits will continue as normal during the suspension of operations, regardless of how teammates choose to record their time.”
During the shutdown, enhanced cleaning operations at BSC will be continued. The company will continue, through the evolving situation, to observe the global supply chain. Once the suspension is ended, the 787 programme will be restarted in a orderly manner. This restart will be centred on safety, integrity, quality, and fulfilling commitments to customers, assures the company.