WICHITA —Due to the downturn in the commercial aviation market caused by the global pandemic and the effect on business from the grounding of the 737 MAX, Spirit AeroSystems now has an excess of production capacity across their global operations, according to a media release.
As a result, Spirit made the difficult decision to close their facility in McAlester, Oklahoma.
Over the next several months, Spirit will begin moving the work currently performed by the McAlester operations to their facilities in Tulsa and Wichita, and a residual amount will be placed with the company's regional suppliers.
According to the release, "The fall-off in airline travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced overall demand for new commercial airplanes. In a matter of months, Spirit’s production rates for commercial aircraft fell from historic highs to much lower volumes. Airline travel, and corresponding demand for new airplanes, is not returning as fast as expected at this point. As a result, we continue taking steps to restructure our company for a protracted market downturn, including consolidating certain operations."