Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, is poised to secure 2,750 UK manufacturing jobs following a long-anticipated agreement with its competitor, Boeing. Reports from The Sunday Times suggest that Airbus will announce as early as Monday the recruitment of 1,550 individuals at a Belfast facility and 1,200 in Prestwick, Scotland, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This agreement arises from Boeing’s acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, offering relief to thousands of UK aerospace workers whose futures were uncertain after Boeing revealed plans to purchase Spirit for $4.7 billion (£3.5 billion) last year. Spirit AeroSystems owns the Belfast and Scottish plants, acquired from BAE Systems in 2006. The Belfast site is dedicated to wing production, while the Scottish plant manufactures leading and trailing wing edges.
A series of short-term agreements have maintained employment as negotiations continued. Sources indicate that Boeing will retain the 2,000 staff not transitioning to Airbus at Belfast and those in Scotland whose employment remains unchanged.
Airbus and Spirit faced challenges following Boeing’s decision to reacquire Spirit after an incident involving a door plug on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max aircraft in January 2024. The programme had previously been affected by two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019. Airbus also encountered issues, with a systems glitch last month necessitating urgent software updates for airlines.
Boeing has stated its intention to finalise the Spirit acquisition by the year’s end, following approval from the US Federal Trade Commission. Airbus regards the FTC’s decision as a significant step, formalising the process for Airbus to acquire essential Spirit capabilities for its commercial aircraft programmes.