Boeing will resume production of the 737, 747, 767, 777, and 787 in the state of Washington from April 20, 2020. About 27,000 employees will be recalled to the assembly lines. The production of the Dreamliner in South Carolina remains on hold.
The production of commercial aircraft came to a complete halt on April 6, 2020, due to the coronavirus COVID-19 epidemic. The containment measures such as social distancing had made work impossible.
Boeing announced it would gradually resume work in its facilities in the Puget Sound area. A workforce of 27,000 people will be constituted in Everett to resume production of the 747, 767, 777 and 787 programs, “supporting critical global transportation infrastructure, cargo services and national defense and security missions.”
In Renton, employees will work towards the resumption of the Boeing 737 MAX production, which stopped in January 2020. The recertification of the aircraft, previously expected to begin in April 2020, was postponed until May. The manufacturer still hopes to see the plane return to service by the middle of the year.
”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,” said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes and senior executive in the Pacific Northwest.
Boeing’s facility of North Charleston, South Carolina, that assembles the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, will not reopen yet. It was the last one still operating, with the 1000th Dreamliner taking off for its maiden flight on April 4, 2020, before closing two days later.
On March 13, 2020, Boeing had already partially resumed its defense operations in the region of Seattle, with the P-8 Poseidon and KC-46 Pegasus production lines reopening.