Will This Reverse Their Trend of Downsizing? 

Jet Builder Safran has announced its intent to hire 12,000 more employees around the world by year's end. The recovery of the aerospace economy has been brisk enough that the company's chief executive has signaled a period of significant expansion. Olivier Andries told a French publication the company will soon begin a hiring spree, saying "We are in the process of coming out of the crisis and we've decided to relaunch our hiring, with 12,000 hires planned in 2022, of which 3,000 will be in France." 

There is no information as to the return of those employees laid off in the pandemic, but reason stands that bringing back those who had previous experience with the company would be an enticing hiring target. Safran's new growth made headlines, but it pales in comparison to its recent reductions. While the economic impact of the travel slowdowns is easily seen across the industry, Safran benefitted from its inclusion in a mid-2020 €15 billion support program aimed at skilled workforce retention. The duration of the crisis may have outpaced its capabilities to cover its costs, however. Safran drew back its operations over the worst 18 month span of the COVID epoch by cutting 20,000 jobs and shuttering 7 sites across its worldwide footprint. After all was said and done, it had cut its workforce by 17%, down to 78,900 employees from a 2019 high of 95,400. 

If all goes well, the continued growth of commercial air travel could see a rapid resurgence, especially amidst an increasingly lockdown-weary passenger public. Andries sees a bright future for the company, telling reporters "today air traffic is recovering, the placing of orders is dynamic, the tempo is increasing. The worst is behind us. I am very confident."  

FMI: www.safran-group.com