Belfast is world-renowned for its shipbuilding given the most famous ship in history, the Titanic, was built in the city. Less known is its role as a pioneer in aircraft manufacture.
In 1908, Eustace and Oswald Short took an order for six ‘Wright Flyers’ from the famous Wright brothers (they were the first people to build and fly a plane). In doing so, their company ‘Short brothers’ became the first aircraft manufacturer in the world.
117 years on and ‘Shorts’ – which has changed hands a number of times including a period in public ownership since – employs approximately 3,700. The company is currently owned by Spirit Aerosystems and it no longer produces entire aircraft but parts for the likes of Airbus, Bombardier and Honda.
Over the last ten years, trade unions representing the workers have repeatedly had to battle to secure the future of the company. In 2018 it was the threat of brutal tariffs from President Trump in his first term. In 2020 it was the collapse of Bombardier – the then owner – which led to the company being taken on by Spirit.
A huge jobs threat
The threat this time arises because of Boeing’s takeover of Spirit – one of its main suppliers. The move is clearly meant to signal decisive action by Boeing to address mounting fears over quality and safety of its aircraft as a result of a long string of accidents and technical failures.
However because Spirit bought Shorts from Bombardier, none of its production in the north is destined for Boeing and not surprisingly Boeing has little interest in taking on production for its competitors. Given the importance of Shorts production for Airbus – Boeing’s main competitor – and the rights Airbus has – the result has been a protracted delay in the wider acquisition.
This was first announced a year ago but it hasn’t progressed much. Uncertainty continues to hang over the future of Shorts and by extension Northern Ireland aerospace.
Airbus recently confirmed it intends on buying Spirit production lines in its own supply chain – work done by at most 1,600 workers – but leaving the remainder of production. That would herald the break up of Shorts resulting in a loss of economies of scale and synergies. Bombardier has indicated it might be interested in buying some of Shorts but it is unclear how much and whether the company is now in a position to buy it back.
Even if all production is taken on – there are no guarantees for jobs or future investment. There is no certainty that the new buyers won’t simply offshore work over time to a low cost alternative location.
The threat posed by this possibility would be devastating. Not just to the 3,700 workers employed at Spirit but for the more than 10,000 jobs in the wider economy that are sustained by the companies supply chain and payroll in the wider economy.
Spirit production is vital for the region’s wider aerospace industry – not just in terms of the supply chain but in sustaining the region’s highly skilled labour force and in attracting further investment and innovation to the economy. Stormont identified aerospace and space production (both happen at Spirit) as one of the north’s key growth sectors in its latest industrial policy.
Cost over quality bites back
But the priority of profit-making means prioritising short-term profits over long-term investments. This is at the root of Short’s challenges.
The Shorts workforce is highly skilled. They have an ability to transfer quickly from one aircraft production line to another as and when needed.
You would think that managers would aspire to such workforce flexibility but that would be to live in a bygone era. Industrial production – even in aerospace – is all about cutting corners. Instead of prizing a widely skilled workforce with readily transferable capacities, the global corporations which dominate the industry only need workers trained to make one part for one aircraft.
Work is being deskilled, with workers paid less and easier to lay off and recruit as and when most profitable. Simpler work is easier to offshore and easier to train up new (lower paid) workers to do.
Skilled manufacturing is giving way to simplified and interchangeable manufacturing – and all to lower wage costs and so raise profits.
The quality-safety problems that Boeing face are rooted in that logic.
A race to the bottom in production might make good profits but means quality falls, parts fail and accidents happen. Suddenly the world is talking about the safety of your aircraft and your shares aren’t doing as well. Capitalism has no answers to this – only pretend solutions – such as Boeing buying back Spirit as the way to fix its quality issues.
Trade unions demand a solution that defends jobs
Trade unions Unite and GMB have been campaigning jointly for all Shorts production to a single operator and for the company to be kept together as the best way to save jobs and the industry.
But the UK government has completely failed to act on this demand. Instead the Secretary of State claims the buy out is a commercial decision and that the government cannot interfere.
This is only the latest in a series of non-interventions by the UK government faced with the potential closure of factories in Northern Ireland. When Visteon took over its Belfast factory from Ford in 2001 it systematically ran it down until it closed in 2009. At the time workers occupied the site and it was activists in our tradition who raised the demand for the factory into public ownership. That could have been done but this was refused. Since then we have had the collapse of Gallaghers (JTI) and Michelin in Ballymena and indeed repeated threats over Harland & Wolff who operate the Belfast shipyard. Of note the later has now been bought by Navantia – a shipbuilder – owned by the Spanish state.
Governments in Westminster and in Stormont engage in hand-wringing and offer sympathy but adopt a policy of non-interventionism when it comes to saving jobs or the future of factories. Sadly it will be left to the workforce and the unions to secure the best they can.
The case for nationalisation
Boeing receives trillions in contracts from the US government decade after decade – much of which is tied to the colossal US military-industrial complex. Airbus is the European champion and it too receives huge grants and contracts from the European union. Spain, Germany and France are major shareholders in Airbus but it is one of the consequences of the Thatcherite counter-revolution that despite the legacy of the Short and Wright brothers, the UK state owns nothing in aerospace.
Under the neo-liberalism which dominated the UK since the 1980s, government sold off state owned aerospace – which was quickly bought up by competitors – and then the government adopted the policy of non-interventionism.
But we are in a new era of global economies where such neo-liberal policies are likely to prove costly to British interests. The potential is there to push the government to impose a capitalist nationalisation of Shorts if only to safeguard strategic productive capacity.
The demand for nationalisation
For now, the Labour government appears to want to pursue ‘non-interventionism’. In particular it appears concerned that the most obvious prospect is for nationalisation to save jobs and the future of the factory.
But its stance on this has been weakened drastically since it was forced to take control of British steel in Scunthorpe under emergency powers – with the prospect of that control becoming outright nationalisation.
The demand for nationalisation is back on the agenda and many workers are already asking why a factory in Scotland can be nationalised to save jobs but one in Northern Ireland cannot.
The trade union movement must demand that the UK government nationalise Shorts and put in place a programme of investment and contracts to safeguard jobs and skills.
A socialist programme
Socialists call for nationalisation under workers control of the corporations and major companies that dominate the economy with the aim of the working class taking control of all the levers needed to establish socialism. In a socialist economy, the economic surplus generated by the productive economy would be shared out according to democratic priorities to meet social, economic and cultural need and to create a sustainable and fair economy.
Under socialism, highly skilled workforces such as those in Shorts would be confident of getting public investment to expand and advance production – whether that is aerospace, space or diversified to meet wider social needs.
The world-class skills and the tremendous experience of Northern Ireland aerospace workers would play an invaluable role in a socialist economy. It is vital that the unions across these islands mobilise to support the call for nationalisation as the best way to save jobs, skill and production at Shorts in Northern Ireland.