Demand for the Airbus A220 and the Bombardier Global 7500 is generating positive spinoffs in the Quebec ecosystem. A subsidiary of the European aircraft manufacturer is looking for 200 employees not only to meet the needs of its customers, but also to ensure that its own suppliers are able to keep pace.
Established in Mirabel since 2014, Stelia is now adopting the name Airbus Atlantic to better reflect its integration with Airbus, its owner. The change of name will be formalized this Friday and coincides with the deployment of a recruitment campaign. In the Laurentians, some 600 employees are building the cockpit of the A220 – Bombardier’s former C Series – and part of the fuselage of the Global 7500 business jet from the Quebec multinational.
Like many companies in the Quebec aeronautics industry, Airbus Atlantic needs arms in several spheres (administration, production plant, management, etc.). But in a context where supply difficulties are causing failures for some aircraft manufacturers, a few recruits will have the role of “accompanying external suppliers”, explains the president and CEO of Airbus Atlantic, Cédric Gauthier, in an interview. with La Presse.
“As a tier-one supplier, we have the power to strike,” he explains. We can help our suppliers to write down the challenges they face and then support them and find solutions to improve things. We have already sent teams to help them on specific files. »
Demand is strong at the Mirabel plant. We must supply Airbus’ A220 program, which is ramping up production with the aim of producing 14 aircraft monthly by 2025, as well as that of Bombardier’s Global 7500, which is delivering more and more copies of this private jet to 75 million US.
Worldwide, Airbus Atlantic – an entity created in 2022 – also acts as a supplier for companies such as Dassault Aviation and Dassault.
In Quebec, the group’s president and CEO is not closing the door on the possibility of expanding the pool of customers at the Mirabel plant. The needs of Airbus and Bombardier will first have to be met, he adds.
It remains to be seen whether the company formerly known as Stelia will hit its recruiting targets. After the tremors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there are vacancies throughout the aerospace cluster. Airbus Canada announced last February that it wanted to hire more than 700 people this year. At Bombardier, we want to fill 400 positions. Added to this are the needs in other well-known actors like Pratt
Airbus Atlantic therefore finds itself in competition with its owner.
“It’s something we’re used to,” replies Mr. Gauthier, when asked about the issue. We work together, for example by organizing joint job fairs. Airbus needs Airbus Atlantic to be able to recruit. Without a fuselage, the ramp-up cannot take place. »
According to Aéro Montréal, there will be some 38,000 vacancies in the sector by the end of the decade. In two years, there should be a shortage in “more than 30 categories of positions”, such as machinists and programmers, underlines the organization which represents the Quebec aerospace cluster.