Boeing is set to acquire the non-Airbus operations at a Spirit AeroSystems plant in Northern Ireland, the largest manufacturing complex in the country.
According to the Financial Times, talks with other prospective buyers have not progressed, and it seems likely Boeing will take control of the Belfast plant as part of its $4.7 billion reacquisition of Spirit, first announced last summer. The news outlet cited a Spirit spokesperson with knowledge of the deal.
To avoid a situation where Boeing would take over factories making airframes and components for its main global rival, the company agreed that Airbus would have the opportunity to purchase Spirit sites supporting the A220 and A350 programs. That deal was finalized in April, when Airbus said it would acquire Spirit assets in Kansas, where Spirit has its corporate headquarters, as well as North Carolina, France, Morocco, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
The remaining non-Airbus operations at the Belfast plant, which also makes parts for Canada’s Bombardier, were kept open to a third-party buyer. But it is increasingly unlikely one will materialize before the broader Spirit acquisition closes in the third quarter of this year.
A Boeing spokesperson told Reuters on Tuesday that the company “remains committed to its acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems” and that “taking ownership of Belfast is an outcome we’ve known was a possibility for some time.”
Bombardier, meanwhile, remains “very actively engaged with all parties to ensure continuity and quality,” a representative told Reuters.
Boeing spun off its Kansas-based fabrication business in 2005 as part of a restructuring effort aimed at securing better financial returns. The new company was initially known as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems before changing its name to Spirit AeroSystems.
Spirit has weathered heavy financial losses in recent years as a result of increased production costs, a 2024 strike at Boeing, and changes to manufacturing targets brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also faced scrutiny, together with Boeing, for an uncontrolled decompression event on an Alaska Airlines flight in 2024.
Boeing has said its reacquisition of Spirit will help it impose uniform safety and quality standards across its production lines.
