Boeing to strengthen production control. Shareholders of its equipment supplier Spirit AeroSystems announced at their last general meeting on January 31 that they accepted the aircraft manufacturer's acquisition intention, announced at the end of June 2024. The transaction is expected to close in the middle of the year, bringing the acquisition to $4.7 billion.
Twenty years ago, Spirit AeroSystems was born from the sale of Boeing's Wichita, Kansas division to an investment company. At that time, the supplier became one of the largest manufacturers of aeronautical parts in the world, specializing in the supply of fuselages and wings.
In recent years, Boeing's supplier has focused particularly on delivering 737 and 787 fuselages, as well as cockpit sections. But the company did not limit itself to the American and also worked with Airbus, for sections of the fuselages of its A350s, as well as the wings of its A220s, assembled in Canada.
By acquiring Spirit AeroSystems, Boeing wants to improve the supervision of its production. This has been one of the most problematic points in recent years for the aircraft manufacturer, which has led to a whole host of problems, whether it is the highly publicized episode of the wing torn off at the start of a United Airlines flight, or the tragic crashes of Lion Air flights 610 and Ethiopian Airlines 302, between October 2018 and March 2019.
Next step: sharing with Airbus
There will remain one obstacle before Spirit can rejoin Boeing. For the acquisition to be effective, it will still need to be approved by regulatory authorities. Airbus, which has also shown interest in Spirit, is expected to recover its European business and the operations directly related to it. The distribution between the two will have to be careful.
During the last Boeing employee strike, Spirit AeroSystems had to let go of part of its workforce. With 700 employees on leave in October 2024, the supplier was suffering greatly from the lack of work, with production of 777s and 767s at a standstill at Boeing.
Since the publication of its last annual report, in which losses amount to more than 8 billion dollars, Boeing has announced that it is setting itself the objective of delivering 38 units of 737 per month, by May.
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