KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems is laying off 2,800 employees at its Wichita, Kansas, facility due to the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.
The announcement came on Friday.
Employees will be paid for the 60-day notice period. Affected employees will leave the company beginning Jan. 22.
Spirit has continued to build 737 Max fuselages and now has dozens lined up on a tarmac near the company's south Wichita factory.
On Tuesday, Spirit discussed giving employees the option for a buyout while the production was put on hold.
“Wichita would not be the Air Capital of the World without the extraordinary engineers, designers and manufacturers who have invested in our aviation industry and made Wichita their home," Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republcian, said in a statement. "The layoffs announced today at Spirit AeroSystems have dealt a harsh blow not only to the company but also to Spirit suppliers and subcontractors."
The Boeing 737 parts make up more than half of Spirit's production, and affects workers in Wichita and Tulsa and McAlestar in Oklahoma.
"This week, I had conversations with both the incoming CEO at Boeing and the FAA Administrator to encourage them to work together and do everything necessary to get the 737 MAX safely back in the air," Moran said. "I will work with business leaders and Administration officials to do everything possible to see that this is a short-term impact to the aviation and aerospace industry in Wichita."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
