Boeing NeXt, an urban air mobility division of Boeing, will halt operation as its parent company looks to cut costs and side projects.

The aircraft manufacturer wants to suspend its air mobility innovation unit as soon as possible, an internal letter acquired by the Seattle Times stated. 

This decision reportedly came after Boeing found itself in a continuously deteriorating financial position due to pandemic, which made it difficult to sustain any peripheral research.

The letter further said that R&D units only had the “privilege to exist” if the core business was doing well. However, the continuation of 737 MAX problems alongside the emergence of several new 787 structural issues has undoubtedly contributed to the worsening situation.

The company reportedly does not anticipate any layoffs and only looks to narrow its scope while it actively works to redeploy NeXt’s roles elsewhere. Its projects will be postponed and rescheduled at a later date when Boeing can stand back on its own feet.

These projects mostly include both manned and autonomous urban air vehicles for passengers, cargo and various other mobility platforms.