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Around 700 Spirit AeroSystems employees are being furloughed as a result of the ongoing strike by Boeing machinists that began last month, the company announced Friday. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

1 of 3 | Around 700 Spirit AeroSystems employees are being furloughed as a result of the ongoing strike by Boeing machinists that began last month, the company announced Friday. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 18 (UPI) — Around 700 Spirit AeroSystems employees are being furloughed as a result of the ongoing strike by Boeing machinists that began last month, the company announced Friday.

The 21-day furlough will begin Oct. 28 and apply to approximately 700 employees who normally work on the Boeing 767 and 777 programs, Spirit said in a news release.

The manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., said it is reaching inventory limits and does not have room for additional capacity.

Spirit said the temporary furlough will not affect its ability to meet its obligations and deliveries to other customers.

“This difficult step was necessary given our limited storage capacity for 767 and 777 units,” Spirit AeroSystems CEO Pat Shanahan said in the company’s statement.

“We recognize the impact this has on our valued teammates and their families, and we are committed to supporting them through this period.”

The company bills itself as one of the world’s leading independent manufacturers and also produces parts for Boeing rival Airbus, as well as Japanese carmaker Mitsubishi and Canadian business jet producer Bombardier.

Founded in 2005, Spirit supplies large fuselage sections to Boeing for many of its large commercial jets.

Approximately 33,000 Boeing employees represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers began striking on Sept. 13.

Less than a week later, the aerospace giant announced it was temporarily laying off tens of thousands of managers, executives and non-union contractors. Boeing has been forced to stop production at all but one of its facilities, a non-union plant in South Carolina that produces its 787 Dreamliner jet.

Earlier this month, Boeing said it would lay off an additional 17,000 workers and delay the introduction of its 777X wide-body plane until 2026 because of the ongoing strike.

Days before the announcement, negotiations broke down between Boeing and the union, with both sides blaming the other.

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