Airbus plans to take on extra 13,000 staff over next year

Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is planning to recruit an extra 13,000 employees over the next 12 months.

The manufacturer, which is one of the North West’s biggest employers, made the announcement following a successful week at the Paris Air Show which saw the company land a record number of orders.

The company is calling on aerospace enthusiasts to join a growing sector as it looks to recruit more than 13,000 people across the globe in 2023.

To date, more than 7,000 of those positions have been filled despite a challenging labour market.

Plans are already well under way to fill the remaining positions with new hires being instrumental in supporting Airbus’s production ramp-up and decarbonisation ambitions.

Thierry Baril, chief human resources and workplace officer at Airbus, said: “We are happy to see that Airbus remains attractive despite the labour market challenges.

“Our recruitment efforts are paying-off and will continue to support our production ramp-up and company transformation.

“We are focused on attracting, training and developing the best diverse talents in our company to help us shape the future of sustainable aerospace.”

The company is offering thousands of job opportunities in manufacturing, engineering and activities supporting Airbus’s long term objectives like cybersecurity, software engineering and new propulsion technologies.

A third of the total recruitment will be allocated to recent graduates. With this ambition, Airbus has just signed an extension of its partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology for another five years, in the frame of the Airbus Academic Programme (with selected Top 15 Universities and Schools worldwide).

In 2023, on top of this strategic programme, Airbus expanded its academic partnerships with 42 business schools and universities worldwide, through agreements with CEMS and UNITECH. These partnerships will foster potential synergies in the aeronautical sector that will help develop the next generation of aerospace professionals.

Airbus currently employs more than 134,000 people across its businesses worldwide, including around 4,500 at its wing-making plant in Broughton, near Chester.

A year ago, Airbus said it would create up to 550 jobs at Broughton, as part of a £100m investment.

Earlier today (June 21) at the Paris Air Show, Avolon, the international leasing company, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to order 20 A330neo (new engine option) aircraft.

Avolon’s selection of the A330-900 reflects its vision to secure the earliest available slots, to take advantage of growing widebody demand around the world.

Including owned, managed and committed aircraft, Avolon currently has a total fleet of 616 Airbus aircraft. This includes 55 A330neos as well as 208 A320ceo, 285 A320neo, 51 A330ceo and 17 A350s).

Andy Cronin, Avolon CEO, said: “We have been a strong supporter of the A330neo programme since its launch and with our existing widebody orderbook fully placed we are now locking in future growth in a supply constrained environment.

“Our expanded delivery pipeline allows us to offer our customers the A330neo’s range and reduced emissions to support their evolving fleet needs. Our recent aircraft orders and commitments reflect our confidence in the long term growth trajectory of the aviation sector, which is outlined in our recent World Fleet Forecast projecting that the global passenger fleet will almost double by 2042.”

Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer and head of international at Airbus, said: “It’s fantastic to see Avolon once again commit additional investment in the A330neo aircraft and lead the lessor market reordering widebody aircraft.”