LoginLocal officials in Wichita, Kansas, are breathing a sigh of
relief after rail and aircraft builders Bombardier Incorporate said
it will expand operations in the city and hire another 400 new
workers in exchange for financial incentives.
The incentives include $16 million from the state and city,
which are hoping to offset job losses when Boeing shuts down its
local plant, according to Bloomberg News.
Bombardier slashed more than 800 jobs from its Wichita Learjet
division at the height of the economic downturn in 2009. The
company said it now hopes to add as many as 1,050 over the next
decade under a 2010 agreement to build its new business jet in
Kansas.
The expansion plans in Kansas came as officials in Washington
state are also hoping to recover from recent losses in the aviation
and aerospace industry.
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell said the state will need to close
the skills gap in order to hire tens of thousands of new workers
over the next 10 years.
“Washington needs more than 21,000 new aerospace workers over
the next decade to fill new jobs and meet employer demands,”
Cantwell added. “America needs thousands more skilled workers to
seize aerospace job opportunities on the horizon.”