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Airbus on hiring spree for factory ramp-up, digital projects
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irbus is better prepared for the challenge of securing enough people to handle jet production increases than it was before the pandemic, a senior executive has said.
The European plane maker plans a two-thirds increase in production of its best-selling the A320neo family’s single-aisle jets to 75 a month in 2026 from 45 now.
In Germany, its second-largest base, Airbus plans to hire 3,500 staff for the second year in a row to handle the ramp-up and feed projects on decarbonization and industrial systems.
The goal involves retracing steps taken before the pandemic, when output touched 60 a month.
Airbus targeted 15,000 job cuts during COVID-19, but is hiring again.
“For the last ramp-up, we were prepared to a lesser extent than we are now,” said Marco Wagner, human resources director for Airbus commercial activities in Germany.
Tight labor markets and stretched supply chains have hampered aerospace worldwide since COVID-19, putting hiring plans into sharp focus.
“The labor market is difficult, yes. But we are more focused and are really targeting, and have started our initiatives well in advance in order to be ready,” he told French journalists visiting Airbus’ Hamburg facilities.
Airbus is hiring 13,000 people worldwide this year.
In Germany, it has begun recruitment campaigns on social media, showcasing ambitions to build a zero-emission, hydrogen-powered plane by 2035.
But Airbus, which also has core sites in France, Britain and Spain, faces competition from big and small players alike.
Aerospace generated 40 billion euros of sales in Germany, a tenth of the country’s auto sector and a fifth of its pharma industry, Wagner said.
“We have many big players in Germany and small start-ups [...] and those are very attractive to people in the market,” he told AJPAE, an aerospace media association.
Competition is especially intense for the skills needed to meet digital demands on manufacturers, sparking a race for talent with global tech.
“When we look for IT experts, cybersecurity experts, they’re not naturally interested in aviation, they’re interested in a proper workspace, they want to have interesting projects, they want to have a mission,” Wagner said.
Airbus’ commercial and defense activities would increasingly require high-power computing, connectivity and cloud-based solutions, all of which must be hack-proof, chief executive Guillaume Faury said in February.
His comments came after French IT group Atos said it had received an indicative offer from Airbus for Atos’ minority stake in cybersecurity arm Evidian.
