Boeing indefinitely extends production shutdown at Washington state plants due to coronavirus
Thirty thousand Boeing employees on Wednesday must start taking vacation and sick time, or apply for unemployment, after the region’s largest private employer decided Sunday to keep its Puget Sound plants closed indefinitely.
The workers had been paid during the initial two-week work stoppage that began March 25, when Boeing closed its local factories to grapple with the spread of COVID-19.
The company told employees Sunday in an email it “is extending the temporary suspension of operations at all Puget Sound area and Moses Lake sites until further notice.”
Boeing has about roughly 70,000 employees in the state. The decision affects about 30,000 of them, mostly production workers. Other employees who can work from home will continue to do so, and volunteer employees will continue to maintain essential services at the plants.
The company said its decision was based on its “continuing focus on the health and safety of its employees, current assessment of the spread of COVID-19 in the state, the reliability of the supply chain, and additional recommendations from government health authorities.”
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/boeing-indefinitely-extends-production-shutdown-at-washington-state-plants-due-to-coronavirus/