Workers and politicians fear steep job cuts at Northern Ireland’s Spirit AeroSystems, which has about 3,500 workers

Much has changed in Belfast since the 1930s. Yet through the second world war, decades of Troubles and the steep decline of heavy industry, the Short Brothers factory has continued to make planes and parts.

Yet now a takeover by US planemaker Boeing of the factory’s owner, Spirit AeroSystems, has raised questions over its future. Workers and politicians fear a new ownership structure could lead to steep job cuts at one of Northern Ireland’s main manufacturers, which has about 3,500 employees.