Boeing will temporarily suspend all 787 operations at Boeing South Carolina from today until further notice.

The move impacts the airport campus, emergent operations, interiors responsibility centre South Carolina and propulsion South Carolina.

“It is our commitment to focus on the health and safety of our teammates while assessing the spread of the virus across the state, its impact on the reliability of our global supply chain and that ripple effect on the 787 program,” said Brad Zaback, vice president and general manager of the 787 program.

“We are working in alignment with state and local government officials and public health officials to take actions that best protect our people.”

Boeing South Carolina employees who can work remotely will continue to do so.

Those who cannot work remotely will receive paid leave for ten working days of the suspension, which is double the company policy.

After ten days, they will have to use a combination of available paid time off benefits or file for emergency state unemployment benefits.

During this time of suspension on the 787 program, Boeing will continue to conduct enhanced cleaning activities at the site and monitor the global supply chain as the situation evolves.

When the suspension is lifted, the 787 program will take an orderly approach to restarting production with a focus on safety, quality, integrity and meeting customer commitments, the company added.