Spirit AeroSystems Officially Split Between Boeing and Airbus After December 2025 Acquisition

This was something that both Boeing and Airbus had interest in wrapping up quickly and cleanly. You can clearly see that they must have collaborated to get the Spirit AeroSystems acquisition completed in only 5 months after the last announcement in July 2025. Now, in December 2025, the deal is completed.

The Acquisition Is Official: Spirit AeroSystems Becomes Boeing and Airbus Property

The last announcement had come in July 2025. Five months back Boeing and Airbus had revealed how they intended to split one of their most important components suppliers: Spirit AeroSystems.

A short five months have passed since and the deal is completed with Spirit becoming on one side an Airbus division and on the other a Boeing division.

A Quick Look Back: How Spirit Broke Away From Boeing and How We Got Here

The part of Spirit AeroSystems going back under Boeing’s direct control will be reunited with its former owner. Tacking a trip down memory lane, Spirit AeroSystems has its origins in the Boeing Group.

Back in 2025 Boeing decided to sell off its Wichita division to an investment firm. Boeing remained one of Spirit AeroSystems’ largest clients without having control over production processes any longer. That became an issue in the early 2020s when the quality of some Spirit supplied components put Boeing in some tricky situations, such as the Alaska plug door blowout.

Spirit AeroSystems following these incidents entered difficulties. They were however too big and strategic to fail for both Boeing and Airbus (who had also become a client in the meanwhile). Therefore, the two rivals came to an agreement to split the supplier and protect their operations and stabilize the supply chain.

I can’t help but look at this as a partial defeat for Boeing and a win for Airbus. Boeing ends up having to pay for something it used to own and for a wrong decision. Not only, it also has to share this asset with Airbus.

What Each Manufacturer Gets: Breaking Down the Split

What the acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems boils down to for Airbus and Boeing is taking control of production sites that produce strategic components for their aircraft. Let’s look at what each manufacturer will be getting out of the deal.

Airbus: Full Control of All A220 and A350-Related Facilities

Airbus will takeover sites which produced components for its A320, A220 and A350 aircraft. Specifically, they are those located in:

• Kinston, North Carolina (A350 fuselage sections)
• Saint-Nazaire, France (A350 fuselage sections)
• Casablanca, Morocco (A321 + A220 components)
• Belfast, Northern Ireland (A220 wings + mid-fuselage)
• Prestwick, Scotland (A320/A350 wing components)
• A220 pylons transferred from Wichita to Toulouse Saint-à‰loi

Airbus workforce jumps up by 4,000 with the completion of the acquisition. Additionally this simplifies and secures the production of the A220 and A350 which is now totally in Airbus’ hands in its key components.

Last note, Airbus also received a 439$ million compensation as part of the deal.

Boeing: Reabsorbing Its Largest Supplier to Stabilize the Supply Chain

Boeing on the other hand takes control of:

• Boeing 737 fuselage production at Wichita facility.
• Production of major 767, 777 and 787 structures.
• P-8 and KC-46 (military planes) fuselages which are produced commercially.
• Spirit’s aftermarket/spares business, now internal to Boeing
• Belfast operations absorbed and branded as Short Brothers, a Boeing Company
• Locations integrated into Boeing: Wichita, Dallas, Tulsa, Prestwick (Aerospace Innovation Center)

Overall a total of 15,000 employees today join the Boeing workforce, in some cases re-enter the Boeing workforce.

Why did Boeing do this? It didn’t have much choice to be honest. Constant quality issues had put Spirit AeroSystems in a difficult position. Production needed to be stabilized for Boeing to get its act back together under the new Ortberg leadership.

What Happens to Spirit AeroSystems as a Company?

Well simply it ceases to exist under its current form. It has been divided and rebranded under Boeing and Airbus. This is the final nail in the coffin for Boeing’s shortsighted past decision of outsourcing key components of its most important aircraft projects.