Boeing resumes 737 Max production after nightmare year
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A Boeing 737 MAX for Alaska Airlines parked at Renton Municipal Airport. Photo: Jason Redmond/AFP via Getty Images
Boeing has resumed production of its 737 Max as it tries to put a nightmarish year behind it.
Why it matters: The jet maker is trying to get back on its feet after a bruising strike and a series of quality and safety breakdowns that have undermined production, deliveries and its bottom line.
Zoom in: "Our team has worked methodically to restart factory operations," Boeing said in a statement Tuesday. "We have now resumed 737 production in our Renton factory, with our Everett programs on plan to follow in the days ahead," referring to facilities in the state of Washington.
- Production on the company's crucial Max program had been halted since September when 33,000 machinists launched a strike at the company's Pacific Northwest factories. They ended their walkout in early November, but production hadn't restarted until now.
By the numbers: The company listed more than 4,000 undelivered 737 orders at the end of September.
- Prior to the strike, it was working toward a production rate of 38 per month.
Flashback: The 737 Max has been engulfed in controversy since it first hit the skies in 2017.
- Fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019 led to fraud charges.
- A panel blew off of a 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leading the FAA to temporarily ground the aircraft.
- And a federal audit that followed uncovered more quality failures.
State of play: Boeing announced about 17,000 layoffs and raised some $21 billion via a stock sale to bolster its balance sheet during the strike.
- Last week, a federal judge rejected the company's plea deal over a criminal fraud charge stemming from the crashes.
What we're watching: The FAA, which had come under scrutiny for failing to properly regulate Boeing, is expected to continue to limit the company's production while it ensures that quality procedures are followed.
- That "could further slow the return to higher levels of output and deliveries," Bank of America analyst Ronald J. Epstein wrote in a research note last month.
The bottom line: "Getting the 737 Max production line moving again is essential to the heavily debt-burdened planemaker's recovery," CNBC reported.
