Spirit AeroSystems Plans to Lay Off as Many as 450 Wichita Employees
May 16—Wichita's largest employer plans to lay off as many as 450 hourly workers in the coming weeks.
In an email sent to Spirit AeroSystems employees represented by the Machinists union and obtained by The Eagle, a company vice president blames the layoffs on lagging delivery rates, a byproduct of the more stringent inspection process that has been in place since a faulty door plug blew out of an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX in mid-flight in January.
"Due to high inventory levels, we must slow down our operations to align our workforce with the needs of our customers. Consequently, we have made the difficult decision to reduce our hourly production workforce in Wichita by approximately 400-450 employees," Terry George, senior vice president for Wichita and Tulsa operations, wrote Thursday morning.
Spirit currently has about 12,000 employees in Wichita.
Joe Buccino, a Spirit spokesperson, confirmed the layoffs in a statement Thursday afternoon.
"The recent slowdown in the delivery rate of commercial programs compels a reduction to our workforce in Wichita," Buccino said. "In the coming weeks, we will inform affected employees. We are committed to implementing this transition in as compassionate a manner as possible."
George's email states that managers will contact affected employees "to provide specific instructions on the exit process."
In response to news of the workforce reduction, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) released a statement expressing "deep concern" about Spirit's decision to terminate hundreds of workers.
"We stand with all who could be impacted, especially our members and their families," IAM's statement reads.
"We are actively gathering details and evaluating the situation to determine the most effective ways to support those affected. Together, we will continue to work to protect the strength of the aerospace industry in Wichita and ensure our members receive the assistance and resources they need to overcome this challenge and emerge stronger."
The last major round of layoffs at Spirit's Wichita plant came in 2020, when the company let 5,000 employees go. Spirit's peak Wichita employment was 13,200 before the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX in 2019 after two crashes killed 346 people.
Financial struggles
In its 2024 first-quarter financial report earlier this month, Spirit made no mention of ensuing layoffs. The aerostructures-manufacturing giant has struggled with liquidity, burning through more cash and delivering fewer fuselages over the first three months of 2024 than it did over the same period in 2023.
"Events in the first quarter of 2024 have resulted in significant reductions in projected revenue and cash flows this year," the financial release said. "These recent events include the production and delivery process changes implemented by Boeing and lower than planned 737 production rates following the in-flight Alaska Airlines incident and the inability to reach a conclusion to pricing negotiations with Airbus."
After the Jan. 5 emergency landing of the Alaska Airlines 737 MAX, the Federal Aviation Administration audited Spirit's facilities for quality control and found 28 items that needed to be addressed.
Boeing and Spirit are now conducting joint product inspections prior to shipping fuselages to the Renton, Washington, facility, which has slowed the delivery rate. Spirit says it expects to maintain its current rate of 31 737 MAX shipset deliveries per month through the end of the year.
Talks between Spirit and Boeing about buying back the beleaguered supplier are ongoing, Spirit reported.
This story was originally published May 16, 2024, 2:13 PM.
___
(c)2024 The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.)
Visit The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kan.) at www.kansas.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
