North Carolina Plants Say Hiring Will Continue Into 2012

A flurry of orders announced during the Paris and Dubai Airshows this year is bringing an uptick in employment at some GE Aviation Facilities in the US. Cathay Pacific, Air China, Republic Airways, LAN, Garuda Indonesia, Lufthansa, Emirates and Cargolux all had deals with GE announced over just three days of the Dubai show, and the manufacturer will be hiring through 2012.

In North Carolina, GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy tells Star News Online the company has already added about 20 workers at its Castle Hayne plant in the last six months, and plans 10 to 15 more after the first of the year. Part of the reason the growth is expected to continue is a deal with Emirates Airlines to provide GE90 engines for 50 more Boeing 777s. GE said at the time, "The engine order list price and service agreement is valued at approximately $6 billion (USD) over the life of the contract."

The Castle Hayne plant builds parts for the GE90, and also for the GEnx powering the 787 Dreamliner, and the CFM56 used on the 737.

Just up the road in Durham, NC, Ge Aviation's plant manager there, Michael Wagner, says his facility has also seen job growth keeping up with demand for parts for engines used in the Boeing 787 and 747-8. He tells the Durham Herald-Sun that building five GEnx engines a week "is significant just because a few years ago, we weren’t shipping anything. An engine of that size for a wide body, at that rate, is a tremendous challenge for extended global supply.”

Wagner says his location has hired 70 technicians in the last year-and-a-half, and will look at hiring more in 2012.

FMI: www.geaviation.com