Unions warn on UK jobs as Airbus reaches Spirit Aero factory deal

By Amanda Ferguson, Tim Hepher, Kanjyik Ghosh and Allison Lampert

(Reuters) -Airbus finalised an agreement on Monday to take over some plants from Spirit AeroSystems in a carve-up of the struggling supplier with rival Boeing, as unions raised concerns over politically sensitive jobs in Northern Ireland.

The deal comes months after Boeing agreed to buy back its main fuselage supplier, two decades after spinning it off for $4.7 billion in stock, while Airbus moved to take on Spirit's loss-making Europe-focused activities.

The unprecedented coordinated decision between planemakers to prevent a collapse of the world's largest independent aerostructures supplier follows years of financial pressure on Spirit, brought to a head by Boeing's recent 737 MAX crisis.

It involves Airbus taking control of a plant in Kinston, North Carolina, where Spirit makes a crucial part of the A350 fuselage, and another in Belfast, Northern Ireland, that makes carbon-fibre wings for the smaller A220.

Certain activities in Morocco and France as well as Spirit's base in Wichita, Kansas, are included, the companies said.

Airbus said it would also acquire production of wing components for A320 and A350 jets in Prestwick, Scotland. That comes after Spirit on Sunday abandoned efforts to find a buyer.

Under the long-awaited agreement, Airbus will be compensated for taking on the loss-making production work by a $439 million payment from Spirit - less than the $559 million originally planned because of changes in the shape of the deal.

The compensation represents one of the thorniest parts of the deal after industry sources said Boeing was particularly reticent about using what amounted to its own future money to pay its arch-rival to take on industrially useful assets.

Airbus, on the other hand, may need to invest heavily in the Belfast plant to curtail chronic losses on the A220, they said.

Vertical Research Partners analyst Robert Stallard said the deal marked the "end game" for Spirit, which was separated from Boeing in 2005 to save costs and find new customers like Airbus.

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie said the reduced payment from Spirit may not cover the drain on 2025 cashflow that Airbus expects from running the plants. Airbus reiterated forecasts.

Even so, shares in the European planemaker rose around 3% as the deal lifted uncertainty about a critical part of the supply chain. Delays from Spirit have slowed A350 passenger jet deliveries and contributed to a freighter development delay.

The expected closing of the complex three-way deal has been pushed back to the third quarter from mid-year and Airbus said it had agreed to provide another $200 million in interest-free credit to keep Spirit production going until then.

Shares in Spirit AeroSystems rose more than 2%.

BELFAST JOBS

The deal leaves a question mark over part of the home to the former Short Brothers, the world's oldest planemaker, which was sold first to Canada's Bombardier, then Spirit and now Airbus.

Politicians and unions have been urging the UK government to prevent a break-up of Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing site, which employs around 3,000 people.

Britain's largest union, Unite, urged the British government to intervene to secure jobs for its 2,000 non-Airbus workers.

The GMB union pledged to "fight tooth and nail" to protect jobs at the 150-year-old facility.

The site is of particular significance to the region's mainly Protestant unionist community which long provided the vast majority of workers at Shorts and the neighbouring Harland & Wolff shipyards, which built the Titanic.

The decision to move ahead with plans to dismantle Spirit comes as Boeing boosts production of its 737 MAX cash cow following a series of crises that weighed on output.

Spirit Aero, which produces the fuselage for the MAX, raised doubts last year about its ability to continue as a going concern, receiving financial help from both planemakers.

Insiders said the break-up of assets spread across four continents illustrated the complexity of unpicking global supply chains, which are also under pressure from trade tensions.

Spirit said Airbus would acquire the production of A220 wings in Belfast. If Spirit cannot find a buyer, Airbus will also own nearby production of the A220 mid-fuselage involving 500 jobs. Airbus may also end up owning a plant in Malaysia.

Besides supplying Airbus, Spirit's Belfast operation makes parts for Bombardier private jets and carries out work in defence and space. It lost $338 million in 2023.

Letters sent this month to employees from Boeing and Spirit leaders suggest some of the non-Airbus work in Belfast could go to Boeing by default, if Spirit is unable to find a buyer.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal, Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru, Tim Hepher in Paris, Amanda Ferguson in Belfast. Writing by Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher. Editing by Barbara Lewis, Jan Harvey and Mark Potter)