Boeing is suspending production of the 737 Max as hopes of getting its marquee aircraft back in the air quickly fade.
The ramifications are likely to ripple beyond the factory floor of Boeing's plant in Renton, Washington, potentially altering the country's trade balance.
Southwest Airlines pushed back any hope of re-inserting the Max into its lineup by five weeks, to April. American Airlines did the same last week. Southwest said Tuesday that it is trying to minimize travel disruptions and apologized to customers.
Shares of major manufacturers that supply Boeing with critical elements of the 737 Max, including Spirit AeroSystems and General Electric, are falling.
"We have decided to prioritize the delivery of stored aircraft and temporarily suspend production on the 737 program beginning next month," Boeing said in a statement released Monday.
The company said no layoffs or furlough are expected at this time. Boeing provides an estimated 12,000 jobs in Renton.
Boeing's troubled 737 Max airplanes won't be cleared for flight until 2020 at the earliest, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration said on December 11.
FAA chief Steve Dickson told CNBC there are still "about 10 or 11 milestones left to complete" as part of the process to get the planes re-certified.
The Max has been grounded internationally since March after two crashes that killed 346 people. The company is still working on fixes to the jet.