Spirit AeroSystems Lays Off 450 of its Workers

Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ), an aerospace supplier, has announced plans to lay off up to 450 employees in the coming weeks due to slower delivery rates on commercial aircraft. The company is also in talks to be acquired by Boeing, which it spun off from in 2005. Spirit AeroSystems makes fuselages at its Wichita facility for Boeing's bestselling 737 Max plane, which deliveries have slowed due to a door panel blowout and safety crisis at Boeing.

Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) reported a quarterly loss of $616.7 million for the first three months of the year, with about 70% of its revenue last year coming from Boeing. The company is also in talks to be acquired by Boeing, which it spun off from in 2005. Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said it is "more than likely" that the companies will reach a deal during the second quarter.

The company is laying off several hundred members of its workforce in Wichita, Kansas, as it deals with high debt and slowed production at Boeing, its key customer. Spokesman Joe Buccino said the recent slowdown in the delivery rate on commercial programs compels a reduction to the workforce in Wichita. The memo, first reported by Wichita-based KSN, said about 400 employees would be affected. Spirit had already started to limit overtime and hiring as production declines due to lower output of 737 MAX jets following a January mid-air blowout on a Boeing plane.

Stock Performance
Spirit AeroSystems ( SPR ) share is down 0.84% as of the time of writing trading along the 100-day Moving Average (MA) with a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 39.68 which appears to be overbought.