Boeing supplier Spirit AeroSystems will furlough some 700 workers as a strike by machinists at the plane maker enters its sixth week, a spokesman for the supplier said Friday.

Spirit AeroSystems will furlough about 700 workers to cut costs as the machinist strike at Boeing continues.The plane manufacturer on Friday said employees affected by the furloughs were working on Boeing’s 767 and 777 programs.

As the Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) strike drags on, Spirit Aerosystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR) faces tough choices ahead, including the looming threat of layoffs and extended furloughs. On Friday, Spirit Aerosystems announced employee furloughs in response to the ongoing strike by Boeing workers represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers,

Production of Boeing's 767 and 777 widebody jets was halted during the strike by more than 33,000 West Coast factory workers that started on Sept. 13.

Spirit AeroSystems says it plans to soon start a 21-day furlough for hundreds of workers supporting Boeing’s 777 and 767 jetliner programs.

Spirit AeroSystems will furlough 700 employees in Wichita for 21 days starting Oct. 28, the company said Friday. The furloughs will affect employees working on the Boeing 767 and 777. The furlough is a result of the ongoing strike by Boeing employees, which started on Sept. 13.

The aerostructures supplier is sending home 700 workers on its 767 and 777 fuselage programmes, as a machinists strike at partner Boeing has hobbled aircraft production.

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