The Northern Ireland division of airline manufacturer Bombardier has been sold to US firm Spirit AeroSystems for almost £1bn.
Canada-based Bombardier, which has around 3,600 employees across Northern Ireland put the country’s factories up for sale in May 2019 as part of a business restructure.
Kansas-based Spirit is a major supplier to the world’s two largest aerospace and defence companies, Airbus and Boeing. It was actually founded in 2005 as a spin-out of Boeing.
Spirit is paying $500m and taking on $700m of liabilities, including pension commitments as part of the deal, which is expected to close officially in the first half of 2020.
Earlier in 2019 Spirit announced it wanted to do more work for Airbus and buying Bombardier's Northern Ireland operation is part of that strategy.
The wings for the Airbus A220 are made at Bombardier Belfast's plant and it also supplies other Airbus parts, particularly engine covers. The factory is also the largest hi-tech manufacturer in Northern Ireland.
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The move is part of Spirit’s initiative to shed its commercial aviation business and focus on its higher-margin rail divisions and rail business jets.
In 2018, Bombardier reported a lower quarterly profit as it stepped up the production of its Global 7500 business. Spirit posted a 22% drop in quarterly profit, mainly due to charge related to the 787 Dreamliner aircraft.
Bombardier has been on the brink of insolvency before, and its Northern Ireland workforce has suffered years of job cuts and doubt.
Michael Ryan, Bombardier's chief operating officer of aerostructures said that employees would be updated about how the deal impacts them in due course.
He added: "We are delighted that Spirit, a global, tier-one aerostructure manufacturer and supplier, has recognised our unique offering and growth potential."
CBI Northern Ireland Director, Angela McGowan said: “As Belfast’s largest manufacturing company and world-class aerospace operation, this announcement will be positive news for its workforce and local communities.
“Spirit’s commitment to growing Bombardier’s Belfast-based business over the long-term and supporting the Northern Irish economy is warmly welcome. The CBI looks forward to seeing Spirit AeroSystems build on the success of the Belfast site.”
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Spirit's Chief Executive Tom Gentile said the Belfast operation brings "world-class engineering expertise to Spirit.”
The Belfast factory will also remain a major supplier to Bombardier's business jet programmes.
The Unite trade union is happy that the business has gone to a trade buyer instead of a private equity fund. A spokesperson said that "it is a sale that offers hope for a positive future for Bombardier workers in Northern Ireland and their colleagues in the supply chain."
Spirit is also buying a Bombardier factory is Morocco and a repair facility in the US.
Bombardier, which is based in Montreal, has more than 68,000 employees in 28 countries.
Spirit Aerosystems has more than 15,000 employees worldwide, with 12,000 based at the company’s headquarters in Wichita, USA.
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Source: BBC News
