Future of UK factory in doubt after Boeing deal puts 2,400 jobs at risk
Spirit AeroSystems - Handout
The future of a major British aerospace plant is in doubt with up to 2,400 jobs at risk following a carve-up of owner Spirit AeroSystems between Boeing and Airbus.
A chunk of Spirit’s operations at the facility in Belfast have been left without an owner, putting the long-term future of the entire factory in danger.
Boeing is to buy Kansas-based Spirit for $4.7bn (£3.7bn) in order to gain control of a key supplier to its troubled 737 Max jet, while offloading operations that provide components for Airbus to its European rival.
This means Airbus will be taking control of a part of the Belfast factory that oversees wing and fuselage production for the Airbus A220 regional jet.
Boeing said an alternative buyer is being sought for the other parts of Spirit’s Belfast business that neither manufacturer is prepared to take on.
But if this deal falls through, it is feared the entire facility – the biggest manufacturer in Northern Ireland – will no longer be commercially viable.
Spirit is the biggest manufacturer in Northern Ireland - Spirit AeroSystems
George Brash, regional officer for the trade union Unite, said: “This deal provides no clarity whatsoever about the future of the majority of employees at Spirit Belfast.
“Our fear is that there will be a dismantling of the site and that jobs will be put at risk. We’re talking about a huge number of jobs in the context of Northern Ireland.”
The unwanted operations, which produce fuselage and tail sections for Bombardier business jets and housings for Rolls-Royce engines, account for 40pc of Spirit’s business but a majority of its 3,600-strong Belfast workforce, according to Unite.
DUP leader Gavin Robinson hit out at the plan as representing only a “partial solution”.
He said: “My preference would be to see a single buyer for the entire site. That is the best way to secure all jobs and make the site sustainable.”
The threat to the Belfast plant, once the headquarters of Short Brothers, the world’s first manufacturer of commercial aircraft, was followed by news that another Northern Irish business, Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff, had halted trading in its shares.
The company, which has 500 staff in Belfast, was forced into the action after auditors declined to sign off on its accounts, six weeks after the Treasury threatened to withdraw vital funding.
Northern Irish shipbuilder Harland & Wolff halted trading after auditors declined to sign off on its accounts - Liam McBurney/PA Wire
Boeing said that under the terms of its takeover of Spirit, the supplier is proposing to sell non-Airbus activities in Belfast to a third party. Sources said that represents a declaration of intent and that there’s no prospect of a quick sale.
Airbus confirmed that it will take on operations including wing production in Belfast and other A220-related work in the US and Morocco, as well as manufacturing of fuselage sections for the A350 wide-body plane in the US and France.
Airbus will pay Spirit a nominal $1 while receiving $559m in compensation for assuming responsibility for the unprofitable activities.
Should a buyer not be found for a subsidiary business in Prestwick, Scotland, which makes wing slats for the A320 jet, Airbus said it would also be prepared to take that on as it works through a record order backlog for the popular single-aisle plane.
However, there is no such safety net in place for remaining operations in Northern Ireland.
Sir Michael Ryan, chairman of Spirit UK, warned in April that a break-up of the Belfast business would be “extremely detrimental” to its future and to the province’s wider standing in the aerospace industry.
In a letter, he said that maintaining the site as a single entity was the best option, and that vital economies of scale and technological synergies could otherwise be lost.
Spirit’s Belfast footprint spans six sites, including some located in the Catholic west of the city regarded as integral to the Northern Ireland peace process.
The main factory, sandwiched between Belfast City Airport and the docks, was built by Short Brothers in 1936 and produced Second World War aircraft including the Stirling bomber and Sunderland flying boat.
Shorts began trading in 1897, making hot-air balloons before switching to aircraft after the Wright Brothers’ first flight.
The company built six planes on the Isle of Sheppey in 1909, making it the first in the world to undertake volume aircraft production.
It was sold to Canada’s Bombardier in 1989 and to Spirit in 2020.
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