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Boeing Announces Decision To Halt Production Of 737 Max In January

CBSDFW.COM/AP — Boeing announced Monday that it is cutting production of the grounded 737 Max in January.

On Sunday evening, a published report said Boeing may cut the production of the grounded jet after being told that its timetable for a return to the skies was unrealistic.

The move comes amid an on-going uncertainty about the plane's return to service after two deadly crashes killed hundreds of travelers.

In October, Boeing said that halting production could be necessary if federal approval of the jet extended into 2020.

Boeing has since released the following statement regarding the decision:

Safely returning the 737 MAX to service is our top priority. We know that the process of approving the 737 MAX's return to service, and of determining appropriate training requirements, must be extraordinarily thorough and robust, to ensure that our regulators, customers, and the flying public have confidence in the 737 MAX updates. As we have previously said, the FAA and global regulatory authorities determine the timeline for certification and return to service. We remain fully committed to supporting this process. It is our duty to ensure that every requirement is fulfilled, and every question from our regulators answered.

Throughout the grounding of the 737 MAX, Boeing has continued to build new airplanes and there are now approximately 400 airplanes in storage. We have previously stated that we would continually evaluate our production plans should the MAX grounding continue longer than we expected. As a result of this ongoing evaluation, we have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month.

The company said financial information regarding the production suspension in connection with 4Q19 earnings will be provided in late January.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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