Boeing to suspend 787 production in South Carolina amid COVID-19 pandemic

Boeing on April 6 announced that it will temporarily suspend its 787 production at its South Carolina plant due to coronavirus lockdown. The decision by Boeing came hours after South Carolina's governor issued orders asking people to stay at home and come out only for essential services. Boeing said that the aforementioned closure will come into effect starting at the end of the second shift on Wednesday, April 8. 

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Boeing shut down orders will impact operations at the Airport Campus, Emergent Operations, Interiors Responsibility Center South Carolina and Propulsion South Carolina. Boeing on April 6 issued a statement to communicate the shutdown orders with its staff and the press. 

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Boeing in the statement said, "It is our commitment to focus on the health and safety of our teammates 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 program,” said Brad Zaback, vice president and general manager of the 787 Program and BSC site leader. “We are working in alignment with state and local government officials and public health officials to take actions that best protect our people."

Boeing further added that during the shut down it will continue to conduct enhanced cleaning activities at the site and monitor the global supply chain as the situation evolves. Boeing said, "When the suspension is lifted, the 787 programs will take an orderly approach to restart production with a focus on safety, quality, integrity and meeting customer commitments."

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Coronavirus outbreak

The coronavirus infection has claimed more than 74,700 lives across the world and has infected over 13,47,000 people globally since it first broke out in December 2019. China was the most affected country until last month before Italy and Spain surpassed it to record the most number of deaths anywhere in the world due to COVID-19. The United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Iran have also overtaken China in terms of death toll related to COVID-19. The virus is believed to have originated from a seafood market in China's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the disease, where animals were reportedly being traded illegally.

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(Image Credit: AP)