THE future of one of the UK’s biggest and most historic aerospace factories has been put in jeopardy by the Boeing carve-up of Spirit Aerosystems.
The embattled US plane maker yesterday announced a £3.7billion takeover of Spirit, but the deal excludes the Belfast site which employs 3,500 staff.
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Boeing’s swoop on Spirit is part of its desperate attempt to bolster safety standards by taking back control of its supply chain.
Boeing has been engulfed by a series of scandals, including a door peg blowing off a jet mid-flight in January and accusations it ignored whistleblowers’ concerns.
Globally, Spirit makes the fuselage of Boeing’s troubled 737 Max. Bolts were missing from the door plug that blew of the Max 9 Alaska Airlines jet.
Boeing has been in negotiations with Spirit since March. It owned the business until a spin-off in 2005 — ranked as one of its biggest strategic missteps by industry analysts.
Boeing boss Dave Calhoun said yesterday: “By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our safety and quality management systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes — centred on safety and quality.”
Spirit is one of the biggest employers in Northern Ireland and bought the wing-making factory from Canadian industrial giant Bombardier four years ago in a £850million deal.
It has a rich history in aviation as it used to be the home of Short Brothers, the pioneering firm that made the Wright Brothers’ first design for an aircraft. The plant, which unions reckon supports 7,000 more jobs in Northern Ireland, makes parts for Airbus.
Bosses at Airbus have said they would not want their parts to be made by their major competitor.
Unite said: “Our fear is there will be a dismantling of the site and jobs will be put at risk.”
Sir Michael Ryan, the chairman of Spirit’s UK subsidiary, had warned in May: “Any dismantling of the business would be extremely detrimental to the long-term future of the Belfast business and, by extension, the region’s aerospace industry.”
Body Shop jobs D-Day
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THE BODY SHOP’s administrators have set a deadline of tomorrow for buyers to submit bids to save 1,500 jobs, The Sun understands.
It tumbled into administration in February after it was bought by private equity firm Aurelius.
It is understood restructuring firm Gordon Brothers is the favourite to take over after rival outfit Alteri pulled out. Authentic Brands Group is also believed to be interested.
There are still about 100 Body Shop stores.
Mine fire setback
LONDON-listed mining giant Anglo American has suffered a setback after a fire at one of its mines in Australia.
It said there were no worker injuries from the blaze but it would halt production of steel- making coal for several months.
Anglo had said it wanted to sell its coal business as part of its argument when rejecting a £39billion takeover by rival bidder BHP. Last week it reported a slump in diamond sales at De Beers, which it is also looking to offload.
A Titanic headache for H&W
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SHARES in Titanic shipbuilder Harland & Wolff were suspended yesterday as accounting problems delayed publication of an audit.
The company said there had been an ongoing discussion with auditors about how to mark revenues from some future contracts.
It adds to ongoing troubles at the Belfast-based business, which last year paid £18million in debt interest costs.
It now wants to secure a £200million Government loan at lower interest rates.
It warned that any serious delays following the General Election would threaten its ability to carry out any new or major contracts.
Unaudited accounts yesterday showed it had narrowed losses from £58.5million to £24.7million.
H&W vowed to have the audit next week, which should allow it to resume trading on London’s AIM market.
I.T. rescue relief
A FRENCH tech company that provides services to the NHS and Government departments has struck a rescue deal with its creditors.
Financial problems at Atos had the UK Government worried about its ability to keep going and maintaining IT services.
But a deal was struck at the weekend that would convert about £2.3billion of Atos’s debt into equity while handing control of the business to its creditors.
The IT giant warned that it faced collapse if financial restructuring talks had failed.
Sector up again
THE UK’s manufacturing sector grew for the second consecutive month despite weak exports owing to Red Sea disruption, data shows.
The closely watched S&P Global purchasing managers index hit a reading of 50.9 for June, dipping from a 22-month high of 51.2 in May. Any reading above 50 means a sector is in growth.
The survey found exports were weak as companies blamed shipping delays caused by Red Sea disruption. The domestic market was strong, helped by rising new orders.
MORTGAGE approvals for house purchases fell slightly in May, Bank of England figures reveal.
They dipped to 60,000, from 60,800 in April.
Experts said buyers are waiting for interest rates to be cut soon.
