Airbus to create 480 Broughton jobs in £150m wing investment

Airbus is investing £150 million at its Broughton plant and says it will create around 480 new jobs at the site during 2026. The company is converting the former A380 wing production facility into a line for A321 wings.

Airbus says 250 of the new positions will be in the refurbished factory. The Broughton site currently employs about 6,000 people, so adding all 480 roles would increase that workforce by roughly 8%, assuming the existing headcount otherwise remains stable.

Six wing jigs and a new production line

The converted factory is due to be completed by the end of 2026. Airbus says it will contain six wing production jigs, an equipping line and a paint shop designed to support production of the A321. The first wing is already in production, with all six jigs expected to be operating by the end of the year.

The company reports an A320 Family order backlog of about 7,500 aircraft, around 70% of which are A321s. That proportion is equivalent to roughly 5,250 A321 aircraft, although both numbers are stated as approximate by Airbus.

More than half the new roles are tied to the refurbished factory

The 250 factory positions account for 52.1% of the 480 jobs announced across Broughton. Airbus has not published a role-by-role breakdown for the remaining 230 posts, salary ranges or a recruitment timetable in its announcement.

Jerome Blandin, head of Airbus Wing, said the investment would increase capacity and support the company's target of producing 75 A320 Family aircraft a month. The £150 million is an investment in factory capacity and equipment as well as employment, so dividing the full amount by the job total would not represent a public subsidy or a reliable cost per job.

Welsh Government response

Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Connectivity and Energy Adam Price welcomed the 480 jobs and said more were expected next year. Neither the Airbus announcement nor the Welsh Government response gives a number for those possible further roles.