Workers and union officials will meet UK business minister Sarah Jones on Wednesday in a bid to secure about 2,000 jobs at a historic aerospace factory in Belfast.

Airbus, the world’s biggest plane maker, is buying part of Spirit AeroSystems in Belfast that makes wings for its A220 jets and will, if necessary, take on a unit producing fuselage sections for the same model.

The manufacturer’s pledge will secure 1,500 jobs at the site, but about 2,000 other workers, who make parts for other aerospace companies, face uncertainty as Spirit, which is being taken over by Airbus rival Boeing, seeks a buyer for the rest of the business.

Susan Fitzgerald, secretary of Unite Ireland, said the trade union was calling on the British government to intervene to secure all jobs at the Belfast factory, still known as Short Brothers, the world’s oldest aircraft company.

A union delegation will meet Ms Jones, the UK’s minister for business and trade, on Wednesday, along with the British parliament’s Northern Ireland affairs select committee, Ms Fitzgerald confirmed.

“The potential break-up of Spirit is not just a huge threat to our members’ livelihoods but is an unprecedented threat to Northern Ireland’s economy and society,” she warned.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary, argued that billions of pounds worth of contracts with the key players involved gave the UK government “huge leverage” with them.

“The UK government must now intervene to secure not just the workers but the future of Northern Ireland aerospace,” she added.

In response, Ms Jones pledged to “continue working closely with Spirit and other parties to ensure a good future for the remaining Short Brothers business in Northern Ireland”.

Spirit’s business supports around 10,000 jobs directly and indirectly, including a number in the Republic, according to Unite.

Ownership of the Belfast site has passed from the UK government to Bombardier and then to Spirit over decades.

It faces being carved up as Boeing reacquires what was a former subsidiary for €4.14 billion following a deal announced in July. The US group spun Spirit off in 2005.

While Airbus is willing to buy the fuselage section manufacturing operation if Spirit cannot find a third-party buyer for this, it does not want the rest of the business, which makes parts for Bombardier and Rolls-Royce, among others.

The European group believes that finding a separate buyer for the elements of Spirit that it is not purchasing is the ideal solution.

“We remain fully engaged with Spirit, the UK government, the Northern Ireland Executive and industry partners to support a sustainable future for the broader Belfast aerospace ecosystem,” it told The Irish Times.

The wing manufacturing operation is critical to Airbus plans to ramp up commercial aircraft production to tackle an industry-wide shortage that dates back to before the pandemic.

Airbus regards those parts of Spirit that it is taking over as critical to those efforts and as central to its long-term plans.

Consequently it regards securing those operations as a priority.

Airbus will receive a payment of €387 million from Spirit to take the Belfast assets, according to a statement. The plane maker will also provide Spirit with $200 million of credit lines to help the manufacturer support Airbus projects.

The agreement clears the way for Boeing to reacquire Spirit.

Following its split with Boeing, to which it is an important supplier, Spirit has also become a vendor to Airbus.

Boeing’s reacquisition meant Airbus had to take control of parts of Spirit, or have its main rival supply it with components.

At the time of the deal’s announcement in July 2024, Airbus said it would pay $1 for the Spirit assets it was acquiring, and receive $559 million in compensation. Airbus said that this amount has since been revised. – Additional reporting: Guardian/Bloomberg