“The grounding of the 737 MAX was a significant issue for Spirit in 2019, particularly after Boeing suspended production on December 16, 2019”, said Spirit AeroSystems President and Chief Executive Officer Tom Gentile during the presentation of the company's results. The latter saw its net income drop by $87 million, a difference of -14% compared to 2018 over a rolling 12-month period.

Workforce reduction.

“After Boeing directed Spirit to suspend deliveries on December 19, we took several actions to lower costs and preserve liquidity. We implemented a workforce reduction of 2,800 employees in Wichita and 400 employees in Oklahoma”, added Tom Gentile. “Spirit remains a proud partner on the 737 MAX program and we look forward to [re]working with Boeing to ensure the long-term success of the program”, he added. Which is actually currently underway.

Return to (almost) normal.

On January 30, 2020, Spirit announced it had agreed on a production rate with Boeing to produce 216 Boeing 737 MAX shipsets in 2020. On February 6, 2020, Boeing and Spirit executed a Memorandum of Agreement that memorialized the production rate agreement, subject to any changes in requirements by Boeing. Production of the 737 MAX fuselages should therefore resume in March to reach the rate in effect before grounding, or 52 fuselages per month by 2022.