Airbus to open jet production plant in the US in a first

Mobile

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European jetmaker Airbus is taking its fight for a bigger market share to rival Boeing’s backyard yesterday, as it inaugurates its first production plant in the United States.

The $600 million facility in Mobile, Alabama, is due to eventually employ about 1,000 workers. 

The move will also help Airbus cut costs.  Alabama has one of the lowest minimum wages in the United States -- $7.25 per hour -- and strikes are rare in the state. Employment benefits are about 30 per cent less expensive than in Europe.

“It’s a historic day,” said Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier.

“Having an assembly line in the United States will increase our visibility.”

The inauguration ceremony, taking place three years after the project first kicked off, is set for 1500 GMT, with lawmakers and economic players from this former capital of colonial French Louisiana.

Three years ago, Airbus had a 20pc share of the US market, against 80pc for Boeing. Since announcing the Mobile plant, its market share has doubled to 40pc.

The company based just outside Toulouse, France estimates that it will get orders for 5,000 new planes in North America over the next 20 years.