A massive expansion of Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Mobile remains on track to create 1,000 new jobs, with jetliners coming off a new assembly line and hitting the sky starting in 2025, company officials said at a Wednesday celebration of progress on the project.
The view of the Airbus campus from the pavilion set up for Wednesday’s gathering oversaw a giant construction site. Between the bare dirt, the mounds of materials and the steady stream of dump trucks rumbling past, it was clear that the occasion was neither a groundbreaking nor a ribbon cutting. Instead, the “expansion ceremony” was a chance for elected officials from the state, city and two counties to wax enthusiastic about the teamwork that had facilitated Airbus’ development so far. For Airbus executives, it was a chance to praise the welcoming environment and to reaffirm an aggressive growth plan.
Daryl Taylor, vice-president of commercial operations with Airbus USA, said the timing of the event wasn’t tied to any one key development, but just felt right.
“We announced our expansion in May 2022, and we just felt today and this week was the right time,” he said. “We had the series of milestones including really breaking ground on our new final assembly line which is the corner piece of the expansion. It just felt like the right time as we put the big pieces in the ground.”
The most substantive language came from Gerd Weber, whose title at Airbus is head of A320 value stream management and…
