Airbus Broughton's giant former A380 factory that once housed 1,200 staff working on the wings of the superjumbo is set to reopen. The West Factory was opened in 2003, and at the time was the largest factory built in the UK for years.
The plant had been used to assemble wings for the 555 seater A380 before they were transported by barge and ship to Toulouse in France. A decision was taken to phase out the programme and the last A380 wing departed Broughton in February 2020.
Despite being left empty, Head of plant had Jerome Blandin had previously said it remained very much a 'key part' of the site strategy for Broughton. Now Airbus has confirmed it will be re-purposed to assemble wings for the A321 range.
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This comes after Airbus revealed it was looking at expanding production of the hugely popular A320 family. Production levels in the pandemic slumped, with monthly A320 rates going from 60 to 40.
This saw job numbers at Broughton fall from around 6,000 to just over 4,000. But they are now aiming for a monthly rate of 65 by summer 2023 and 75 in 2025. The latest investment boost has the potential to create between 450 and 550 new jobs at the Flintshire facility.
It will also mean an investment of £100m with a bulk of that helping to repurpose the West factory.
An Airbus spokesman said: "With this week's announcement that Airbus will increase A320 Family production rates to 75 aircraft per month by November 2025, the West Factory, which produced wings for the A380 superjumbo, will be repurposed as a wing-production line for our market-leading A321, single-aisle aircraft."
Earlier Welsh Government Economy Minister Vaughan Gething welcomed the investment boost for Broughton. He said: "This announcement is fantastic news for Wales. Airbus’ plans to increase wing production on Deeside will see a significant growth in the skilled workforce, alongside a huge investment from the company. This is a real vote of confidence in Wales and the talented workforce at Broughton.
“Airbus’ plans mean more made-in-Wales wings will fly on the very latest Airbus aircraft across the globe, sending a clear signal that Wales is a nation with a superb reputation for advanced manufacturing - which is only made possible thanks to our world class workforce.
“The Welsh Government will continue to work closely with Airbus to ensure we have the pipeline of skilled talent the company needs in order to grow its workforce in the years ahead."
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said: "Airbus have confirmed they’re increasing production of single aisle commercial aircraft to 75 aircraft per month - a 40% increase. A huge vote of confidence in Wales as part of a global Britain."
