VIENNA (Reuters) - Boeing (NYSE:BA) has told major customer Ryanair that production is likely to be disrupted for two to three weeks after the end of the current strike, Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Tuesday.
Furloughs at Boeing began on Friday for thousands of employees in Washington State and Oregon, after more than 32,000 workers went on strike the previous week, halting production of the U.S. planemaker's best-selling 737 MAX and other jets.
"Boeing are telling us that the strike will delay aircraft deliveries by the length of the strike plus two or three weeks," O'Leary told a news conference, estimating the strike would last two to four weeks.
He said Ryanair had been assured by Boeing that the timing of the delivery of 30 737 MAX jets due by next June would not be affected if the strike ended within three to four weeks.
"We're not sure, though, that we necessarily believe that but we have no choice other than to work with Boeing once the strike is over to help them to increase production and catch up the three, four, five, six weeks of delays."
Earlier this month O'Leary said a combination of existing backlogs and a prolonged Boeing strike could cut the number of aircraft it receives by next summer to 20.
Asked about that comment on Tuesday, he said Ryanair was still working on the assumption all 30 would be delivered.