---
title: "Boeing Officially Halts Production of 737 Max Airliner"
description: "After announcing plans to temporarily stop production of the 737 Max airliner in December, Boeing confirmed that production was officially on hold to CNN."
date: "2020-01-21"
modified: "2020-01-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-officially-halts-production-737-max-airliner"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
  - "Boeing"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "737 max"
  - "boeing"
  - "the digest"
---

# Boeing Officially Halts Production of 737 Max Airliner

![After announcing plans to temporarily stop production of the 737 Max airliner in December, Boeing confirmed that production was officially on hold to CNN.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/boeing-officially-halts-production-737-max-airliner.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SounderBruce\</em\>*

## Disaster Prone

After [announcing](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-halt-737-max-production>) plans to temporarily stop production of the scandal-plagued 737 Max commercial airliner in December, aerospace giant Boeing [confirmed to *CNN*](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/21/business/boeing-737-max-production-halt/index.html>) today that production was officially on hold at the company's assembly line in Renton, Washington.

It's still unclear how long production will be paused, but Boeing doesn't expect regulators to sign off on the plane until this coming summer, [*CNBC* reports](<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/21/boeing-doesnt-expect-regulators-to-sign-off-on-737-max-until-june-or-july.html>).

The 737 Max was involved in a pair of deadly crashes in 2018 and 2019, resulting in the deaths of 346 people. Boeing decided to immediately [ground](<https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47562727>) all 371 of the aircraft days after the second crash.

## Disturbing Messages

Today's news comes after Boeing released redacted versions of [disturbing internal messages](<https://futurism.com/boeing-737-max-designed-clowns-wrote-employee>) sent by Boeing employees earlier this month. The most troubling referenced glaring software issues and problems with flight simulators for the 737 Max.

*The* *New York Times* also recently [reported](<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/05/business/boeing-737-max.html>) that regulators have found potential vulnerabilities in the 737 Max's wiring that could [possibly cause a short circuit](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-more-issues-737-max>).

## Redeployment

It's been a terrible year for Boeing. Orders for the troubled plane dried up months after the two deadly crashes, and in 2019 the aerospace giant had more cancelled orders than new purchases for the first time in at least 30 years, [according to *CNBC*](<https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/14/boeing-posts-negative-commercial-airplane-orders-for-first-time-in-decades.html>).

Boeing [stated](<https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2019-12-16-Boeing-Statement-Regarding-737-MAX-Production>) in December that roughly 12,000 workers working on the 737 Max in Renton were to be redeployed to other projects, avoiding layoffs.

**READ MORE:** [Boeing has officially stopped making 737 Max airplanes](<https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/21/business/boeing-737-max-production-halt/index.html>) \[*CNN*\]

**More on Boeing:** *[Experts Don’t Know Why Boeing 777 Doused Children With Jet Fuel](<https://futurism.com/experts-dont-know-boeing-777-doused-children-jet-fuel>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)