By Dayna Fedy-MacDonald | February 22, 2023 Estimated reading time 3 minutes, 46 seconds.
Airbus on Feb. 22 announced its plans to recruit more than 800 new employees in Canada this year, as the manufacturer is looking to ramp up production of its A220 commercial aircraft, as well as “meet opportunities in the helicopter, defense, and space fields,” the company said in a press release.
In 2022 alone, Airbus hired 800 new personnel and created more than 400 positions for the A220 in Mirabel, Quebec. Now, the OEM is looking to recruit a further 800 employees in 2023. Of the 800 new employees, 500 will be recruited for the creation of new positions, which Airbus said reflects the growth of its operations in Canada.
The jobs will range from sub-component assembly and flight operations, to IT and customer service. “Two-thirds of the workforce will be in support functions, while one-third will be in production,” Airbus said.
More specifically, Airbus Canada’s president and CEO, Benoît Schultz, said this year the company is aiming to “allocate one-third of our positions to young graduates and early-career professionals, and maintain our goal to have 33 percent of new hires and promotions allocated to women.”
The company added: “These new hires will be essential to maintaining [our] position as a leading player in the Canadian aerospace sector, ensuring the full potential of the A220 and supporting the decarbonization of air transport.”
Airbus currently manufactures the A220 at two facilities, both located in North America. The first is in Mirabel — which is the main A220 facility — and the second is in Mobile, Alabama. There are nearly 3,000 personnel working at the A220 commercial aircraft program headquarters in Mirabel, and more than 4,000 individuals who work at the 10 sites and offices of Airbus and its subsidiaries in Canada.
While Airbus has not offered a recent update regarding the A220’s monthly production rate, Skies reported in August 2022 that Airbus is producing a total of 72 A220s per year between the Mirabel and Mobile facilities. The OEM has plans to increase that number to 168 units by 2025, which would translate to a monthly production rate of 10 units at Mirabel and four units at Mobile.
Currently, the largest operator of the A220 is Delta Air Lines, with 59 of the type in its fleet — comprised of both the A220-100 and A220-300. Canada’s flag carrier, Air Canada, is not far behind, with 33 A220-300s in its fleet.
The aircraft is tailored specifically for the 100- to 150-seat market. In July 2022, Airbus forecasted that there will be global demand for at least 7,000 aircraft in that exact seat category over the next 20 years.
Nice to see the increased staff for production, but it won’t do much since Pratt&Whitney cannot make enough engines to supply the demand. They are the ones who need to hire to ramp up production.