Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. on Wednesday said it plans to restart production at its Wichita, Kan., operations on Monday, April 23.
Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems (IW 500: 198), which makes fuselages and other assemblies for commercial airplanes, shut down production this week after a tornado ripped through its Wichita campus Saturday night, causing "a significant amount of damage," according to the company.
"We are committed to doing what we have to do to bring our factory up and running by Monday," Spirit AeroSystems President and CEO Jeff Turner said on the company's website.
"Spirit has made very good progress with our recovery plan this week. Now it's time to bring our entire Wichita team safely back to work, with the flexibility and responsiveness to serve the needs of our customers."
"It doesn't have to be perfect or pretty," Turner said on Spirit's website. "It has to be safe and operational, and allow us to produce quality products on a regular drumbeat to meet our customer needs."
Spirit has agreed to pay its employees their normal wages this week, despite the shutdown.
The tornado that hit Spirit's Wichita campus was part of devastating storm system that slammed the Great Plains states this weekend.
Spirit's initial assessments indicated "that damage is primarily limited to infrastructure, including buildings and utilities, and that production equipment appears to be largely unaffected," the company said on Monday.
None of Spirit's employees were injured in the tornado.
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