Airbus has finalised an agreement to acquire several Spirit AeroSystems plants, prompting concerns from unions over thousands of jobs in Northern Ireland and Scotland. The deal follows Boeing’s move to repurchase parts of Spirit AeroSystems, twenty years after spinning it off for USD 4.7 billion, amid financial pressures worsened by the Boeing 737 MAX crisis.

Airbus will take control of sites in Kinston, North Carolina, Belfast, Northern Ireland, and Prestwick, Scotland, as well as activities in Morocco, France, and Wichita, Kansas. Airbus will receive a $439 million payment from Spirit AeroSystems for assuming loss-making operations, a reduction from the initially planned $559 million.

In Belfast, where about 3,000 people work at the historic Short Brothers site, unions urged the United Kingdom government to intervene to secure 2,000 non-Airbus jobs.

 

Similar concerns were raised over 1,000 jobs in Prestwick. Airbus may need to invest heavily in Belfast’s facilities to stem losses related to A220 wing production.

The expected deal closure has shifted to the third quarter of 2025. Airbus shares rose by around 3 per cent following the announcement. Spirit AeroSystems shares also increased by more than 2 per cent. The future of additional facilities, including in Malaysia, remains uncertain.

Source: Reuters