Boeing has extended the shutdown of its facilities located in Washington state indefinitely, including major operations located around the Puget Sound and Seattle areas.
The news comes after the conclusion of a two-week shuttering period, following the death of one local employee from the coronavirus and the infection of dozen of others.
The majority of Boeing’s commercial construction works are carried out in the Puget Sound area, including at its wide-body factory in Everett – which is a key centre of the company’s assembly chain, and the largest building in the world by volume.
According to Forbes, the company now has 135 confirmed cases of the disease, up from 31 at the time the production pause was brought in. The outlet also claims that about 100 of those cases are located in the Puget Sound area.
In a press release published on Sunday, the company said that the extension was made in light of the current assessment of the spread of COVID-19 in Washington state, which has been particularly hard-hit by the virus.
“The health and safety of our employees, their families and our communities is our shared priority,” said Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and chief executive Stan Deal.
“We will take this time to continue to listen to our incredible team and assess applicable government direction, the spread of the coronavirus in the community and the reliability of our suppliers to ensure we are ready for a safe and orderly return to operations.”
