European jet maker Airbus said today that it has added engineering jobs in North America at a faster-than-expected pace.
Airbus said it plans to increase its Wichita, Kan.-workforce by 40 percent. That site has grown from 40 engineers in 2002 to 210 employees today. After signing a lease today to expand to a neighboring building in Wichita, the aerospace company said it will add another 80 workers there.
“When we opened our doors in Wichita, it was an ambitious move for us – we’d never before had an engineering presence in the U.S. But what we knew then is reinforced now – to move ahead in this business, you need to go and grow where the technical talent is,” said Barry Eccleston, president and CEO of Airbus Americas.
For more on Airbus in Wichita, check out this story from the Wichita Eagle.
Airbus also has 150 employees in Mobile, Ala. That’s where its parent company, EADS, would build tankers for the Air Force if it wins the $35 billion contract with Northrop Grumman.
EADS noted progress today with its A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport, which is the basis of the KC-30 tanker it would offer the Air Force.
The A330 MRTT transferred more than 65,000 pounds of fuel to a French Air Force E-3F AWACS radar aircraft during two missions.
“With this important milestone, the A330 MRTT has once again demonstrated its ability to meet the U.S. Air Force’s demanding operational requirements for its next generation tanker,” said Ralph D. Crosby, Jr., Chairman of EADS North America. “We have an aircraft flying now that brings more capability than any tanker available in the world.”
Northrop-EADS’ chief competitor for the contract, the Boeing Co. delivered its fourth 767 tanker to Japan earlier this year. The company likely will offer the Air Force a tanker based on the Everett-built 767.
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