Boeing will suspend all operations at its 787 factory in Charleston, South Carolina, until further notice, starting at the end of the site’s second shift on April 8, the company announced today. The move affects the Airport Campus, Emergent Operations, Interiors Responsibility Center South Carolina and Propulsion South Carolina. Boeing added it will continue to conduct “enhanced cleaning activities” at the site and monitor the global supply chain during the suspension.
As it did for employees in the Puget Sound area when it closed four factories on March 25, Boeing will double paid leave time to 10 days for employees who cannot work from home. After that period, workers can use a combination of available paid time off benefits or file for emergency state unemployment benefits. Boeing said it will continue to provide medical and other benefits for the duration of the production pause.
On Sunday Boeing announced it would extend the temporary suspension of production activities at its Puget Sound area and Moses Lake sites until further notice. The initial 14-day suspension of operations in Washington state began on March 25. Along with the Moses Lake flight test center, it all but halted activities at the company’s narrowbody plant in Renton, its widebody facilities in Everett, and its Auburn and Frederickson fabrication plants.