Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems to lay off 2,800 workers

Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for the Boeing 737 MAX, said Friday it will lay off 2,800 employees after Boeing halted production of the plane. Boeing announced in December it would suspend production after a pair of deadly crashes caused the plane to be grounded worldwide. Spirit said the MAX represents half its annual revenue.

The Wichita, Kansas layoffs are equivalent to 16 percent of Spirit's total workforce, and the firm also expects "smaller workforce reductions" later this month at two plants in Oklahoma, the company said in a statement. The company, which provides the fuselage for the MAX and other components, said it "has not received notice from its customer, Boeing, on how long the production suspension will last or what the production rate will be in the future."