Bombardier's Northern Ireland operations sold to Spirit AeroSystems

By Michael McHugh

Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier's Northern Ireland operations have been sold to US firm Spirit AeroSystems.

Bombardier employs more than 3,500 people in Northern Ireland, primarily in East Belfast.

The Canadian-owned multi-national is reorganising its business to focus on business aircraft and trains.

Kansas-based Spirit supplies Boeing and Airbus plane manufacturers.

The wings for the Airbus A220 are made at Bombardier's Belfast plant.

Michael Ryan, chief operations officer Aerostructures at Bombardier Aviation, said: "Through this agreement with Bombardier, we are delighted that Spirit, a global, tier-one aerostructure manufacturer and supplier, has recognised our unique offering and growth potential. We look forward to an exciting future ahead.

"We are immensely grateful to Bombardier for 30 years of development and investment in Belfast, and more recently in Casablanca and Dallas, enabling us to advance our capabilities and skills to world-class levels."

Spirit is also buying a Bombardier factory in Morocco in north Africa and a repair centre in the US.

Bombardier is based in Montreal and has more than 68,000 employees in 28 countries.

IMAGE: Inside the Bombardier factory

It employs thousands across several locations in Northern Ireland, east Belfast, Newtownabbey, Dunmurry and Newtownards near Belfast.

Skill and capacity levels among Bombardier manufacturing workforce is world class and has driven commercial interest, trade union leaders said.

Unite the union assistant general secretary Steve Turner said: "Today's deal will see Bombardier's footprint here transfer as a whole to one of the world's largest independent producers of aerostructures."

He added: "We are pleased that Bombardier has heeded our call to be a responsible seller and the need for Bombardier aerostructures production to be transferred as a whole to a company with an excellent track record in aerospace rather than a short-termist hedge fund.

"It is a sale that offers hope for a positive future for Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland and their colleagues in the supply chain."

Susan Fitzgerald, Unite regional coordinating officer, said the workers and the skills base they possess are world class and offer any prospective owner a huge platform for future growth.

She said: "Unite welcomes this announcement and hopes that it will be followed up by investment for growth in the future.

"Such investment would be good news for the workers and would secure a future at the forefront of the aerospace manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland."

The overall deal including the US and Morocco acquisitions is worth 630 million US dollars.

Spirit AeroSystems president and chief executive officer Tom Gentile said: "The Bombardier operations bring world-class engineering expertise to Spirit and add to a strong track record of innovation, especially in advanced composites.

"Belfast has developed an impressive position in business jet fuselage production, in addition to the world-acclaimed fully integrated A220 composite wing.

"This acquisition is in line with our growth strategy of increasing Airbus content, developing low-cost country footprint, and growing our aftermarket business."

Business minister Nadhim Zahawi described the deal as "a great endorsement of our incredible aerospace industry", adding: "The Belfast factory builds great wings for Airbus."

The business is a global player in aerostructures and fabrication, its new owner said, delivering composite and metallic wing components, nacelles, fuselages and tail assemblies, along with high-value mechanical assemblies made out of aluminium, titanium and steel.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first half of next year, is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

Spirit AeroSystems said it expected to make around 60 million US dollars savings from the acquisition.

Last year, Bombardier survived the threatened imposition of huge US tariffs on its cutting-edge and ultra-economical planes following a complaint from rival manufacturer Boeing.

Northern Ireland's biggest hi-tech manufacturer has significantly reduced its workforce at the wing-making plant in Belfast.

East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said: "This is good news for east Belfast and for the wider Northern Ireland economy.

"Bombardier is absolutely integral to Northern Ireland and since the partnership with Airbus there has been an upturn in orders for the A220 planes."