18th Jan 12
Airbus promises 600 new British jobs
by Paul Russell
Cruising: Airbus makes up for Korea tender by promising to create UK jobs
Cruising: Airbus makes up for Korea tender by promising to create UK jobs
Aerospace group Airbus has vowed to create as many as 600 new jobs in Britain this year but also dealt a blow to domestic manufactures by stating that the UK’s GKN lost out recently on a contract for lucrative parts to a Korean rival as it was not deemed competitive enough.
The Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said the successful offer for work on wings of the A320 aeroplane was finally won by Korea Aerospace Industries due to the fact that it made a cheaper bid. However, Enders referred to claims made by the Unite trade union that the largest plane maker in Europe is undermining the UK aerospace industry as “nonsense”.
He said that he is aware that this is being made an issue of because they have recently been in the news for outsourcing so-called British work to South Korea, but said that was simply down to competitiveness. He explained that they are running an extremely competitive tender, adding that GKN had submitted a below-par offer.
Mr Enders insisted that GKN did not do everything in their power to make their best offer. One report stated that the fact that the work – which is to be done on the A320 wings’ bottom skins – was lost scuppered plans to create up to 800 new jobs in Britain – a number which sources from Airbus do not recognise.
Mr Enders said that the move underlined how important it was for Airbus to remain competitive against rivals such as Boeing and would not be the start of a withdrawal from Britain. He explained that the company needs to cut costs and internationalise itself further.
Airbus employs roughly 10,000 workers in the UK, primarily at its design and testing plant in Filton near Bristol, and its wing manufacturing facility in Broughton, north Wales. The chief executive said that Airbus would create about 500-600 jobs this year in the UK, while sources from the company said that the roles were likely to be based at Broughton and Filton.
However, Enders used the launch of a new facility in Broughton in October last year to issue a warning that Airbus’s plane manufacturing is no longer solely a Eurocentric activity. He said that governments should invest in and finance intellectual infrastructure and support technology and research so there is a basis to work in Britain in the long term.
Around 15 per cent of what Airbus produces is done so in the UK, although the successful bid from KAI underlines the continuing threat to that number, which is believed to have stood at about 20 per cent during the early years of the A380 superjumbo production programme.
Our Stories
- Tesco store managers see annual bonuses cut
- Royal Mail: half London sorting office to be sold
- Panasonic announces £3.4bn loss
- Thomas Cook attacks government over holidays at home promotion
- Clinton Cards falls into administration
- Wet April sees high street spending fall
- Five tough years ahead for UK jobs market
- Deal struck to save Thomas Cook
- Discount battle leads to sales decline at Morrisons
- Wetherspoon founder: pubs plans to be hit by taxes
- Stores in doubt as Argos profits fall
- Heathrow to increase landing fees
Popular Topics
afghanistan al qaeda amazon Apple ASDA bank of england barack obama BBC british airways china david cameron Debenhams Egypt facebook george osborne Google India ipad iphone ivory coast japan Libya London M&S Marks & Spencer Morrisons nhs North Korea Office for National Statistics pakistan protests russia Sainsbury’s South Korea terrorism Tesco Tunisia UK UK retailers UK retail news UK shopping us Waitrose Wikileaks x factorArchive
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- January 2009
