Boeing has confirmed that in January it will suspend production of its 737 MAX, the jet that has been grounded worldwide after two separate crashes killed 346 people.
Since the grounding in March, the company has continued to produce the planes while working to get approval to fly them once again. It now says it has about 400 planes in storage.
"As a result of this ongoing evaluation, we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month," the company wrote in a statement. "During this time, it is our plan that affected employees will continue 737-related work, or be temporarily assigned to other teams in Puget Sound."
The jet manufacturer also wrote that there were no layoffs or furloughs expected along with this announcement.
The company’s stock fell Monday after a morning report from the Wall Street Journal said Boeing ($BA) would likely make an announcement today. Boeing’s board met Sunday and Monday to determine the future of the plane.
Boeing was expected to either suspend or curb future production, which are both decisions that could cost the company billions.
Last week, the Federal Aviation Administration warned Boeing its plans to fly the jet in 2019 were unrealistic and that certification of the jet may take longer than Boeing had hoped. Now, the anticipated earliest approval in February 2020 may no longer be relevant.
Production was first reduced in April and a further cut will inflate Boeing’s costs and signal to the public that Boeing is not confident in its aircraft.
Boeing previously said it may halt production if the FAA held its approval into 2020. Its current fleet, to which it has added around 40 planes a month since the jet was grounded in March, is sitting in hangars across the nation, from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Roswell, New Mexico, costing Boeing business and leaving airlines without jets they had already ordered.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
Cracker Barrel is sticking with its new logo. For now. But the chain is also apologizing to fans who were angered when the change was announced last week.
Elon Musk on Monday targeted Apple and OpenAI in an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the iPhone maker and the ChatGPT maker are teaming up to thwart competition in artificial intelligence.
