Boeing Co. said it would suspend production of its 737 MAX jetliner, in an escalation of the crisis facing the giant plane maker that will ripple through the global aerospace industry.

The company said Monday that it plans to halt production in January, having assembled around 40 planes a month at its plant near Seattle since the MAX was grounded globally in March following two fatal crashes of the aircraft within five months. The two accidents in Indonesia and Ethiopia claimed a combined 346 lives.