Boeing, Airbus to Hire Over 23,000 Workers in 2023

World’s largest planemakers Boeing and Airbus will recruit over 23,000 people globally in 2023 as jet production recovers from the pandemic and supply chain disruptions.

French aircraft maker Airbus said that it intends to recruit over 13,000 workers in 2023. The new hires will support its commercial aircraft ramp-up and help the company meet challenges in the defense, space and helicopter divisions. About 7,000 of these jobs will be newly created. Over 9,000 of the new posts will be in the EU and the rest throughout the firm’s global network. In 2022, Airbus hired 13,000 people and it currently employs over 130,000 people worldwide. 

On the other hand, Boeing expects to hire 10,000 workers in 2023 as it increases jetliner production. However, the US planemaker acknowledged it will “lower staffing within some support functions,” a move meant to enable Boeing to better align resources to support current product and technology development, reported Reuters.

In 2022, Boeing increased overall employment by about 14,000 workers to 156,000, up from about 142,000 in 2021. The US planemaker is nearing pre-pandemic workforce levels, which stood at 161,000 people by the end of 2019. In 2020, the workforce fell to about 141,000 people. "Hiring is not a constraint anymore," Dave Calhoun, CEO, Boeing tells analysts. "People are able to hire the people they need. It is all about the training and ultimately getting them ready to do the sophisticated work that we demand," he added.

Both planemakers have manufacturing operations in Mexico. Airbus has been operating in Mexico for 40 years and currently employs over 600 people. The company’s plant in Queretaro, which started production in 2013, employs 370 people and produces about 4,000 plane doors every year.

“In Mexico, we found a competitive and flexible environment so we decided to build more diversified products. After the pandemic, we also recognized the importance of having a competitive, resilient setup that can be adapted to the customer's needs,”  Ricardo Capilla, CEO, Airbus Mexico, tells MBN.

In 2019, Boeing acquired a division of EnCore Group, a supplier of aircraft interiors that designs and certifies products and components for the US planemaker’s commercial aircraft. EnCore Group has offices in the US and in Tijuana, Baja California. This acquisition made the former EnCore facilities Boeing’s first direct manufacturing operation in Latin America.