Thousands of engineering jobs have been secured in a deal involving Boeing and Airbus.
Spirit AeroSystems, which owns the former Short Brothers factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a plant in Prestwick, Scotland, is being carved up by the two plane-making giants.
Airbus will take control of the operations in Belfast that make the wings and mid-fuselage for its A220 jet, as well as the production of wing components for its A320 and A350 planes in Prestwick.
It will also take ownership of sites in the US, France and Morocco, with the rest of Spirit’s operations transferring to Boeing.
The deal saves around 5,000 jobs and will see the Belfast site renamed Short Brothers, a Boeing Company.
Industry minister Chris McDonald said: ‘This is positive news for workers in Belfast and Prestwick who now work for the largest manufacturers of aircraft in the world.’
Air raid: Spirit AeroSystems, which owns the former Short Brothers factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a plant in Prestwick, Scotland, is being carved up by Boeing and Airbus
Kim Smith, a senior vice president at Boeing, also said: ‘We welcome the Short Brothers family to Boeing and look forward to leveraging the team’s outstanding aerospace capabilities.’
Sir Jeremy Quin, president of Boeing’s operations in the UK and Ireland, added: ‘The site’s rich history and legacy, in addition to its highly skilled workforce, is a strong addition to our operations in Northern Ireland.’
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