HAZELWOOD, Missouri — In 2000, just three years after acquiring St. Louis defense contractor McDonnell Douglas, Boeing announced plans to spin off its local fabrication business — and about 1,500 jobs — to a British company called GKN PLC.

Analysts at the time applauded the decision to outsource the work, saying it would free Boeing to focus on its "core competencies" — and become more competitive.

On Friday, that cost-cutting strategy appeared to come full circle when Boeing announced it was buying back GKN's St. Louis operations and saving 550 jobs, nearly all of the 600 employees who remain.

Boeing had little choice but to work out a deal.

In February 2022, GKN Aerospace — the sole supplier of key parts for Boeing's F-15 and F/A-18 fighters — announced it would close its Hazelwood plant by the end of 2023, saying it was unprofitable.

Soon after the announcement, GKN proposed a sale, but Boeing passed on a deal.

Then Boeing sued.

Its lawsuit, which ended up in federal court, accused GKN's parent company, Melrose Industries, of inadequately capitalizing GKN and trying to gouge it on a sale price, knowing that the plant produces parts for fighters that Boeing can't get anywhere else. GKN had agreed to produce certain parts for Boeing's fighters, and it had to honor those contracts, the planemaker argued.

While the companies were battling in court, Boeing was lining up new business for the latest versions of the F-15 and F/A-18.

A new U.S. order and a major pending one from a key ally may have added urgency to Boeing's attempt to come to terms with GKN.

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