ENGINEERS at Prestwick Aerospace have been furloughed for the month of May.

The majority of staff at Spirit Aerosystems were told last week that they were being placed on the government coronavirus job retention scheme from Friday, May 1.

In a letter to employees, bosses at the aircraft engineering firm revealed they had now hit maximum capacity of stock levels on the site.

Social distancing measures had been put in place at the start of the coronavirus outbreak to allow manufacturing at the Prestwick site to continue.

In his letter to staff, Spirit Aerosystems general manager Les Carey said: “As of close of business on Friday, May 1, we will cease all production and support activities across the Prestwick site.”

A spokesperson for Prestwick Aerospace confirmed the move.

They told the Advertiser: “Most employees at Spirit’s Prestwick site will be furloughed for the next few weeks.

“We are working closely with our customers to ascertain their schedule requirements going forward and will continue to engage and communicate directly with our employees.”

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