Spirit AeroSystems in Belfast set to be split between the world's two rival aircraft giants: Boeing and Airbus

It has emerged that Spirit AeroSystems, the Belfast aircraft-building business, is to be divided up between two new owners: Airbus and Boeing.

The pair are rivals who are locked in a titanic struggle to be the world’s number one aircraft firm.

In Northern Ireland, Spirit employs about 3,600 workers across a handful of sites in the greater Belfast area, with by far the main one being its east Belfast factory.

That Spirit factory was run by Bombardier from 1989 to 2000, and before that it was called Shorts – a firm with a history in Belfast dating back to 1936 when it built warplanes for the UK government.

It is not yet clear what the impact of the deal will be on jobs, or whether control of the various satellite facilities in the city will be divided up.

Spirit’s HQ is in Kansas, and it builds much of Boeing's worldwide fleet of planes.

Much of the work that Spirit does in Northern Ireland is building the wings of Airbus’ A220.

In July 2024 it was confirmed that Airbus was seeking control of part of the Belfast Spirit business, sparking job loss fears.

That was because, as Unite union organiser George Brash told the News Letter at the time, the whole Spirit workforce is interconnected, and the only way to guarantee all jobs was for it to be taken under the wing of a single firm, instead of being "carved up".

"Politicians need to call this out too to say the [business] must remain intact," he said at the time.

"We're worried about a carve-up and this then falls into job losses which would be absolutely devastating."

Then in April 2025, this partial takeover by Airbus was finalised.

What has happened now is that Boeing has been revealed to be in line to take over the remainder of Spirit’s operations in the city.

The news emerged via the Financial Times, which reported that the deal heralds "an awkward cohabitation" in Belfast between Boeing and Airbus, the world's two biggest aeroplane empires.

The news network Reuters quoted a Boeing spokesperson as saying that "taking ownership of Belfast is an outcome we've known was a possibility for some time."

In a statement, Spirit spokesman Joe Buccino told the News Letter: "Under the terms of the definitive agreement Spirit entered with Airbus, Spirit has a responsibility to ensure the smooth transition of those operations and employees who will transfer to Airbus at the closing of the divestiture.

"To that end, we are formally advising those Belfast employees who are or may be impacted by the transfer to Airbus.

"Per the agreements, the A220 wing and A350 engineering programs are expected to transfer to Airbus and, if a suitable third-party buyer is not secured for the remainder of the Belfast site, the A220 mid-fuselage program transfers to Airbus, with the remaining Belfast operations transferring to Boeing.

"To date, no suitable buyer has been secured for the remaining Belfast operations.

"Accordingly, the remaining Belfast operations will transfer to Boeing.”

"This is not the outcome the workforce had hoped for, but nor is it a final destination for the site.

East Belfast DUP MP Gavin Robinson said: “This is not the outcome the workforce had hoped for, but nor is it a final destination for the site.

"I have continually supported the unions' quest that government would encourage a solution which works for the entirety of the business, rather than integrated systems and workstreams being managed by two independent, and at times rival, companies.

"The government have shown total inaction and lethargy. At the unions' request, I asked the business secretary to convene all interested parties to secure a solution.

"They acted to secure Scunthorpe’s future and their lack of willingness to do so to secure aerospace’s future in Northern Ireland speaks volumes.”