Spirit furloughs 700 workers as Boeing strike enters sixth week

Aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems announced on Friday that it will furlough roughly 700 workers as a strike by Boeing machinists entered its sixth week.

Spirit said its temporary, 21-day furloughs, which will affect approximately 5% of the company's US workforce, will impact employees working on the 767 and 777 programmes at its largest facilities in Wichita, Kansas , starting from 28 October.

"These furloughs are in combination with a series of other cost savings measures, including a hiring freeze and travel and overtime restrictions," said Spirit. "The company has built up a significant inventory buffer on the 767 and 777 programs and does not have room for additional storage."

Spirit added that if the strike were to continue beyond November, financial pressures would require it to implement additional cost savings measures - including layoffs and additional furloughs.

More than 32,000 Boeing staff walked off the job on 13 September after rejecting a tentative labour deal with the company, with the company and the machinists' union remaining at loggerheads.

As of 1600 BST, Spirit shares were down 0.62% at $32.01 per share, while Boeing shares were 0.59% lower at $154.40 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com