Airbus announces plans to create over 1,000 new UK jobs, boosting economy

Airbus has announced that it plans to hire an additional 1,100 more people in the UK, with positions including cyber security engineers, software engineers, project & programme managers and more.

This has been announced as part of Airbus’ latest Oxford Economics survey which outlines its contribution to the UK, as well as its role in supporting direct and indirect employment across the wider aerospace and defence supply chain.

With more than 25 sites across the UK, Airbus is the largest civil aerospace company in the country, the biggest civil aerospace exporter, the largest space satellite company, the biggest supplier of large aircraft to the Royal Air Force and responsible for around 50 per cent of the UK’s civil helicopter fleet.

In Portsmouth, Airbus employs over 1,100 people in highly skilled jobs at Airbus Defence & Space site, a major space hub and global centre for satellite payloads, having built the instrument for the NovaSAR Earth observation satellite launched in 2018.

It is also one of the proposed sites for the UK’s next generation of milsatcom through the Skynet Enduring capability programme, that Airbus is actively bidding for.

Assessing Airbus’ impact in areas such as jobs, investment, research & development (R&D), supply chain and sovereign capability across the UK, the survey highlights that Airbus remains a key component of the UK’s wider industrial manufacturing capabilities, supporting economic performance.

Commenting on the survey, John Harrison, Airbus General Counsel and UK Chairman, said: “These findings clearly show that Airbus is good for jobs, good for growth, and good for the UK.

“I am proud of the contribution our 11,500 UK employees make to the UK economy, a multi billion pound effort from satellites to civil aerospace that helps connect people all over the world. Our deep roots in the UK supply chain and investment across the four nations create long-term regional and local growth, ensuring Airbus’ impact is felt at every level.

“But the work does not stop here, our continued investment in R&D, a total of £277m in 2022 alone, is helping to find tangible solutions to the key challenges that affect our world today - from climate change to conflict.”

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

• Add me on LinkedIn and Twitter to keep up to date
• And follow Bdaily on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• Submit press releases to editor@bdaily.co.uk for consideration.