Boeing and Airbus have simultaneously completed major acquisitions of Spirit AeroSystems assets, marking the end of one of the most extensive restructurings in the aerostructures industry in the past two decades. Both companies confirmed on December 8, 2025, that they are taking over critical facilities of what was once the world’s largest independent producer of large aircraft components, a move that also brings several thousand employees under their direct management.
Boeing has brought back into its organization all Spirit activities linked to its commercial programs, including 737 fuselage production in Wichita and major structures for the 767, 777, and 787. The takeover also includes fuselage work for the P-8 and KC-46 military aircraft, as well as Spirit’s aftermarket division, which had long been Boeing’s largest supplier of spare parts. The integration covers facilities in the United States and the Aerospace Innovation Center in Prestwick, Scotland, resulting in approximately 15,000 employees joining Boeing. At the same time, part of Spirit’s operations in Belfast will continue to function as a Boeing subsidiary under the historic name Short Brothers. CEO Kelly Ortberg described the development as crucial for strengthening production stability and maintaining long-term delivery quality.
Airbus, in a parallel announcement, confirmed the closing of its transaction to acquire Spirit’s industrial units supporting the A220, A320, and A350 programs, bringing more than 4,000 employees across four countries into the company. Airbus emphasized that this transition opens a new chapter in its industrial operations, as activities of strategic importance for core aircraft programs are now being integrated under the manufacturer’s direct oversight. Florent Massou, Executive Vice President for Operations, said the milestone marks a special moment for Airbus and the beginning of a new cycle in its industrial development.
Airbus has taken ownership of the Kinston, North Carolina, facility, which produces A350 fuselage sections and now operates as Airbus Aerosystems Kinston. The Saint-Nazaire site in France, also responsible for A350 fuselage sections, has been integrated into Airbus Atlantic under the name Cadréan. Operations in Casablanca, Morocco, producing components for the A321 and A220, now function as Airbus Atlantic Maroc Aero. The Belfast production of A220 wings and mid-fuselage sections continues under the name Airbus Belfast, while the Prestwick site in Scotland, responsible for A320 and A350 wing components, now operates as an affiliate named Prestwick Aerosystems. Production of A220 pylons will be moved out of Wichita and transferred to Airbus’s Saint-Eloi facility in Toulouse. Airbus has also received 439 million dollars in compensation, along with standard post-closing adjustments and liability settlements.
The acquisitions by Boeing and Airbus effectively mark the end of Spirit AeroSystems as an independent aerostructures manufacturer. The company, spun out of Boeing in 2005 to diversify across multiple OEMs, is now returning to the umbrella of its largest customers. Years of production pressures, quality issues, and financial strain—exacerbated by instability in Boeing’s supply chain—gradually undermined the viability of Spirit’s business model. From the outset of the separation process, efforts were made to find a compromise that would prevent a scenario in which the manufacturer of the most critical aircraft structures—such as Boeing fuselages or Airbus sections—would end up under the control of a direct competitor. Such an outcome would have been operationally and commercially unworkable, dividing Spirit’s facilities along customer lines the only practical solution.
The reintegration of key structures into the two largest aircraft manufacturers underscores a strengthening trend toward vertical integration, highlighting the reality that fuselages, wings, and other essential components are too critical to certification and delivery schedules to remain outside the direct control of major OEMs. The result is the beginning of a new industrial era in which the global aerostructures supply chain is consolidating faster than ever before.
