Airbus has delivered a huge vote of confidence in UK plc by announcing plans to increase its British workforce by almost 10 per cent.
The world’s biggest aeroplane maker plans to create another 1,100 jobs in coming years across a range of divisions. Many of the roles will be in high-tech fields including cyber security, software engineering, cryogenics and robotics.
Airbus already employs 11,500 people in the UK – out of a global staff of 134,000 – and makes the wings for all its aeroplanes here.
It has major bases in Filton, near Bristol, and Broughton, in north Wales, and a big centre that focuses on space work in Portsmouth.
The jobs announcement comes as figures show Airbus contributed £7 billion to the UK economy last year. It also supported 79,000 British jobs in the wider aerospace and defence sectors, according to a report from the consultancy Oxford Economics, and spent £3.9 billion with homegrown suppliers.
Airbus made £5.6 billion in UK sales last year. As well as building passenger jets, such as the A350, and commercial helicopters, it works in the defence and space sectors.
‘These findings clearly show Airbus is good for jobs, good for growth, and good for the UK,’ said Airbus’s UK chairman John Harrison. ‘Our deep roots in the UK supply chain and investment across the four nations create long-term regional and local growth, ensuring our impact is felt at every level.’
Airbus invested £277 million in research and development in the UK last year, and the creation of 1,100 jobs would be a boon for the sector. More than 400,000 people work in the aerospace and defence industries in the UK, according to industry body ADS, though Airbus’s total UK workforce will still be below pre-Covid levels after the jobs are created.
It had about 14,000 staff in Britain before the pandemic, when the grounding of flights for several months forced the company to cut jobs across the globe.
Airbus, which is worth £86 billion, is a publicly listed company but is also part-owned by France, Spain and Germany.
It is bidding for lucrative Ministry of Defence contracts in the UK, including one to build the next generation of military satellite communications through the Skynet Enduring Capability programme and another to build a new helicopter.
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