Boeing’s crisis began with two crashes of its 737 Max, which killed 346 people and led regulators around the world to ground the jetliner last year. The company’s problems have deepened with the coronavirus, which has cut global air traffic by up to 90% and caused airlines to postpone or cancel orders and deliveries for new planes.
Boeing is a leading U.S. exporter whose importance to the U.S. economy has been highlighted by President Donald Trump. For many years, Boeing was the largest private employer in Washington state — even after the corporate headquarters moved from Seattle to Chicago in 2001 — and it continues to have an outsized impact on the state’s economy.
Washington state was one of the first COVID-19 hot spots in the U.S. and has suffered more than 1,000 deaths from the disease, according to numbers from Johns Hopkins University. Boeing temporarily shuttered jet-assembly plants in March after dozens of workers contracted the virus.
Boeing Co. suppliers such as Spirit AeroSystems have already cut thousands of jobs.
This article has been amended from its original source.
