MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — Construction has been underway for about a month at the Airbus facility for the second A-320, making this the third final assembly line to come to Mobile.
Government officials came together Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the construction of this site.
“This just felt like the right time as we really put the big pieces of it in the ground,” Daryl Taylor, Senior Vice President of Commercial Operations for Airbus, said.
Airbus announced this expansion in May 2022.
“We will have the capacity to double the output we have today,” Taylor said.
There are 6,000 aircraft on the backlog waiting to be built. To keep up with the growing demand for aircraft, the extra assembly line is essential.
“The only way we get to that is by adding this expansion, this third final assembly line in Mobile, second in the A-320,” Taylor said. “Our ability to meet that commitment by 2026.”
Currently, Airbus in Mobile employs a little over 1,800 people. This assembly line will open up 1,000 more jobs.
“What I would like to see is at least 70% of those jobs be people who live in Mobile, residents of Mobile County, or if they are relocating, making sure they are relocating to Mobile County,” Mobile County Commissioner Randall Dueitt said.
Alabama State Sen. Chris Elliott says that this expansion goes beyond Mobile County.
“It’s just so excellent to see not only Airbus expansion but continued supplier expansion in the region,” Elliot said.
Construction is expected to be finished by the middle of 2025.
