EVERETT – A surge in demand for airliner maintenance is prompting Goodrich Corp. to add 90 people to the staff of its Everett aircraft repair center.
“We’re trying to respond today to the opportunities that present themselves,” said Patrick Keaty, the director of human resources at Goodrich’s Aviation Technical Services unit.
Goodrich already has added 112 workers since the start of the year, including 10 who started on Monday. It hopes to add 90 more within the next six weeks, Keaty said.
The majority of the new jobs will go to jet maintenance mechanics working directly on planes, but Goodrich also is hiring for a number of support jobs, he said.
The company also is restarting an internship program for jet mechanics through Puget Sound vocational colleges, including Everett Community College. About 15 of the openings will be filled that way, Keaty said.
A list of the job openings, along with electronic job applications, is available online at www.goodrich.com/careers.
Even with the new hiring, Goodrich’s total employment is below what it was prior to the 2001 terror attacks. As of Monday, Goodrich had 1,546 employees at the Everett maintenance facility. It had more than 2,000 people before the attacks.
The rise in business is two-fold. Keaty said Goodrich’s core customers have sent more business its way as air travel has increased. In addition, “we seem to be winning some business,” Keaty said. More airlines are looking to out-source maintenance as a cost-cutting move.
Goodrich’s Everett facility specializes in repair, maintenance and overhaul work on Boeing 737s, 757s and 767s. Some of those planes are jets coming out of storage in the desert, while others are planes that have been flying long enough to need routine maintenance, he said.
The fact that Goodrich is hiring now is a testament to the “1,200 people who have weathered the storm,” Keaty said.
But the business still is in for some turbulence, he added. Rising fuel costs are putting pressure on airlines that already were struggling to recover from the post-Sept. 11 industry slump.
“It’s the most volatile environment I’ve seen in commercial aviation since 1987, when I started,” he said. “It’s still very tenuous.”
Reporter Bryan Corliss: 425-339-3454 or corliss@heraldnet.com.
Apply online
A list of the job openings, along with electronic job applications, is available online at www.goodrich.com /careers.
Apply online
A list of the job openings, along with electronic job applications, is available online at www.goodrich.com/careers.
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