Economy minister hails ‘vote of confidence in Wales’ as Airbus to create more than 450 new jobs

Wales’ economy has hailed as “fantastic news” the announcement that Airbus is to create more than 450 new jobs in the north-east.

The company announced it would create between 450 and 550 new jobs at the Broughton site in Flintshire, as part of 6,000 new posts globally.

The announcement came as the company said that it expected demand to bounce back after the Covid pandemic.

Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said: “Today’s announcement is fantastic news for Wales. Airbus’ plans to increase wing production on Deeside will see a significant growth in the skilled workforce, alongside a huge investment from the company.

“This is a real vote of confidence in Wales and the talented workforce at Broughton.

“Airbus’ plans mean more made-in-Wales wings will fly on the very latest Airbus aircraft across the globe, sending a clear signal that Wales is a nation with a superb reputation for advanced manufacturing – which is only made possible thanks to our world class workforce.

“The Welsh Government will continue to work closely with Airbus to ensure we have the pipeline of skilled talent the company needs in order to grow its workforce in the years ahead.”

Broughton had seen its staff numbers fall from around 6,000 to just over 4,000 during the pandemic.

Airbus however said in January that they were hoping to bring jobs back.

A spokesperson said: “Airbus has announced a recruitment plan for 2022 of around 6,000 new hires worldwide across the entire group.

“The main message is that we are hiring, we have talent to recruit and new profiles to find in order to meet our decarbonisation roadmap and planned ramp-up.”