On December 8, 2025, Boeing closed its $4.7 billion reacquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, returning the Wichita-based manufacturer to its parent. Doc welcomed Boeing back to Kansas and credited Wichita's aerospace workforce and the SPEEA and Machinists union locals as central to the structure of the deal. Spirit employs approximately 12,000 Kansans in Wichita and is the metro's largest private employer.
In Kansas · December 8, 2025