Among growing acceptance that the airline industry's return to prepandemic activity levels will take at least several years and will not be smooth, Airbus and Boeing are resetting their expectations, and production levels, to match the reduced demand. Airbus made its major changes earlier this year, cutting production by about one-third across the board. Its only notable new move, announced on July 30, was to further trim A350 production to five aircraft per month from six. Boeing's updates, unveiled on July 29 alongside its heavy first-half loss of $3 billion, including $2.4 billion in the second quarter, are more significant. Factoring in both the COVID-19 pandemic's effects on the entire industry and Boeing's unique 737 MAX uncertainties, the U.S. conglomerate is making further cutbacks to its commercial aircraft production rates, studying additional layoffs and delaying deliveries of the 777X until 2022. Boeing also confirmed production of the 747 will end in 2022, and the company is evaluating whether to consolidate its two 787 production facilities in Everett, Washington, and Charleston, South Carolina, into one location.
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