(Bloomberg) -- Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. workers approved a new labor contract, ending a six-day strike that threatened to disrupt output at planemakers Boeing Co. and Airbus SE.
About 6,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at Spirit voted Thursday to ratify a four-year contract with the aerospace company, the union said. Some 63% of those who cast a ballot backed the deal.
The shutdown at Spirit, which makes most of the 737 Max’s fuselage, struck as Boeing prepares to step up production rates of both the Max and Dreamliner, two critical sources of cash. Machinists will return to work on July 5, limiting the damage from the walkout.
Shares of Spirit rose 1.5% in premarket US trading, while Boeing was up 0.2%.
“We continue to monitor the situation as we assess any potential impacts to production and deliveries,” Stan Deal, head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, said in a memo to employees that was seen by Bloomberg News.
Output at Spirit has been at a standstill since June 22, after rank-and-file Spirit employees in Kansas rejected an offer that was backed by union leaders and voted to strike.
Union negotiators and Spirit reached a new tentative deal Monday with sweetened terms for health insurance and higher wages. The new contract would also limit mandatory overtime, another sticking point for striking workers.
Spirit said it will begin restoring operations at its main Wichita plant on June 30 and work to fully restore production by July 5. The company makes about 70% of the frame for Boeing’s 737 Max, the nose section of the 787 Dreamliner as well as engine pylons for Airbus’s A220 jet.
In a statement, Spirit Chief Executive Officer Tom Gentile said the company had “listened closely to our employees and brought forward a fair-and-competitive offer.”
(Updates with premarket US trading in fourth paragraph)
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