Boeing's decision to halt production on its signature 737 Max airplanes indefinitely could impact US economy and put tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs in jeopardy.

Boeing said the decision would not immediately lead to any layoffs among its own staff, which numbers 153,000 people, saying those workers will "continue 737-related work, or be temporarily assigned to other teams."

However, Boeing's supply chain includes hundreds of other US manufacturers, from a Kansas-based firm, Spirit AeroSystems, that builds fuselages for the 737 - and relies on Boeing for nearly half its business - to engine assembly teams outside Cincinnati. Collins Aerospace, based in Iowa, handles much of the jet's complicated electronics.

Many of these smaller companies may not have the cash flow or breadth of work to keep their employees through a protracted stoppage.

Many of the hundreds of companies that are part of the 737 Max supply chain are likely, at a minimum, to be more circumspect with raises, capital investments and new hires for the foreseeable future, Dartmouth College economist Matthew Slaughter said, and that could have a broader effect on manufacturing as well as rail and trucking companies responsible for shipping the giant metal components.

Analysts said the company was still paying for its initially unrealistic expectations for getting the planes back in service, and some worried that the stoppage would have an enduring effect on Boeing's ability to compete globally.