A lot has changed in Belfast since the 1930s. Yet through World War II, decades of trouble, and the steep decline of heavy industry, the Short Brothers factory continued to produce aircraft and parts.
But now the takeover of factory owner Spirit AeroSystems by US aircraft manufacturer Boeing has raised questions about its future. Workers and politicians fear the new ownership structure could lead to sharp job cuts at one of Northern Ireland’s major manufacturers, which employs about 3,500 people.
Boeing announced the $4.7 billion takeover of Spirit on Monday as it seeks to regain control of parts of its supply chain after safety failures. However, Spirit is also a key supplier to its bitter rival Airbus, as it makes the wings and fuselage for the A220 small airliner. There was little prospect of Boeing supplying to its European competitor, so Spirit handed Airbus its factories in Belfast, France, Morocco, and Kansas and North Carolina in the US.
Alan Perry, chief organizer of the GMB union, which represents workers at the plant, says about 40% of the factory’s revenue comes from making parts for Airbus. (The rest are from companies like Bombardier, Rolls-Royce and Honda Aircraft.)
“The real fear trumps the other 60 percent,” he says. “We’re still in limbo. Even if Airbus stays put, we’re looking at the collapse of the factory.
Belfast’s industrial icons are in dire straits. The Short Brothers factory’s neighbor, Harland & Wolff shipyard, was forced to suspend its shares on Monday after failing to submit audited accounts on time.
The deal with Airbus is a clear sign that Spirit’s assets, which it has taken over, are not financially attractive: Spirit will pay Airbus $559m (£442m) to take operations off Boeing ahead of the merger. Just four years ago, Spirit took over Bombardier’s operations in Northern Ireland, Morocco and Dallas in the US for £211m.
The Belfast operation, which still trades under the historic name Short Brothers, has not made a profit since 2016. In the last decade of published financial results, it has posted cumulative losses of more than $1bn (£789m) – including $500m (£395m) in in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the airline industry.
It’s a complicated situation for a company that is the world’s oldest aircraft manufacturer. The company’s history dates back to 1897, when Eustace Short founded a balloon manufacturing company with his brother Oswald. Production first began in Hove, then London, before switching to aircraft design after hearing of the Wright brothers’ successful demonstrations of their aircraft. The Shorts acquired the British rights to build copies of Wright’s design and in 1909 set up the world’s first aircraft factory on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.
The move to Belfast came in the 1930s when the government realized that factories in the south east of England would be vulnerable in the looming war. Since then, it has continuously produced aircraft or parts thereof, under government ownership from 1943 to 1989, and then as part of Bombardier Canada until Spirit bought it in 2020.
This long history – despite the troubles that have plagued the country for decades and hampered economic development in the north of Ireland – has made it a key source of well-paid work in a region that lags behind the rest of the UK.
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Kevin Craven, chief executive of ADS, the lobby group for the UK aerospace and defense industry, says consolidation “should not be at the expense of our economic security of our sectors.
“The fact remains that Northern Ireland plays a key role in advanced manufacturing in the UK, providing exceptional capabilities that are world renowned for their quality,” he says. “It is vital that operations are maintained in these state-of-the-art engineering centers and advanced manufacturing footprints.”
The takeover could be an early test for Hilary Benn, currently Labour’s shadow secretary for Northern Ireland, if the party comes to power on Thursday as expected. It is understood he has been informed of the situation.
Local politicians are concerned. Northern Ireland economy minister Conor Murphy said he wanted to “ensure that the future status of the highly skilled workforce is protected”, while Ulster Unionist finance spokesman Steve Aiken said the government must ensure jobs are not moved elsewhere.
For the workforce, the takeover could mean weeks of uncertainty with the potential for economic ripple effects.
“It’s a significant employer not just in the local east Belfast area but beyond,” says Perry. The job losses will have “repercussions not only in the supply chain but also in the wider economy”.