Retirements Will Also Mean More Jobs In Aerospace Industry

Boeing says it is looking forward to hiring new workers and ramping up production after a record year for the company. And the optimism comes despite some analysts forecasting a potential economic downturn in the coming years.

The Seattle Times reports that the planemaker plans large increases in production in the coming year, and that a large number of workers are looking at retirement in 2015. All that adds up to the potential for 20,000 to 30,000 new jobs by the end of the decade in the Puget Sound region.

Boeing is also making major investments in automation systems, which will convert some of the current blue-collar jobs into a more technical arena. The goal is to ramp up to 52 airplanes per month ... about three times the rate produced 10 years ago.

The paper reports that Airbus is also bullish on the market, with major production increases planned as well.

But analyst Adam Pilarski, a respected industry veteran and senior vice president with consulting firm Avitas, said at an industry conference earlier this year that there may be an increased chance of cancellations or deferrals, as airlines may have ordered more airplanes that the market will bear. While Boeing is booming right now, Pilarski said that there is an even chance of a downturn in the planemaker's fortunes by 2020.

FMI: www.boeing.com, www.airbus.com