Wichita, May 17: Spirit AeroSystems, a US-based aerospace company and a most important supplier to Boeing's 737 Max aeroplanes announced to lay off around 450 employees amid the slowed production. The layoffs at Spirit AeroSystems still followed the repercussions of the incident that occurred in January 2024 when a panel flew off in mid-air from an aeroplane operated by Alaska Airlines. According to reports, the Spirit AeroSystems layoffs were confirmed by a company's spokesperson.

The Spirit AeroSystems spokesperson confirmed that it will lay off the employees from its Wichita, Kansas plant, according to a report by U.S. News. The report mentioned that Spirit AeroSystems had been a critical supplier to Boeing's 737s aeroplane as it made the fuselages and installed door plugs similar to the one that flew off in the January incident. The report highlighted the Boeing January incident, and it was unclear which company's employees, Boeing and Spirit, were the last to touch the blown-out mid-flight door plug. Rockwell Automation Layoffs: US-Based Automation and Digital Transformation Company To Cut 3% of Staff To Save USD 100 Million, CFO Announces His Retirement.

The report mentioned that Joe Buccino, spokesperson of Spirit AeroSystems, said that the layoffs were announced due to the recent slowdown witnessed in the delivery rate on commercial programs. The spokesperson highlighted that the Spirit AeroSystems layoffs would be implemented in Wichita. Amid this ongoing news,  Boeing had been in talks with acquiring Spirit, which once was a part of the company before it became a corporate spin-off.

If Boeing bought Spirit AeroSystems, it would reportedly reverse the strategy of the plane-maker to outsource the major work of its passenger planes. Despite the company practising this long-time approach, it was criticised when problems started arising with the production and delivery of Boeing 737s and Boeing 787s. Toshiba Layoffs: Japan’s Electronics Company To Let Go 4,000 People Domestically as Part of Restructuring

The  International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union expressed concern about the upcoming Spirit AeroSystems layoffs. They pledged to assist the affected workers in the coming weeks and reiterated their commitment to protecting the aerospace industry's strength in Wichita. The union assured its members that they would receive the necessary resources and support to overcome these challenges and emerge stronger. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 17, 2024 06:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).