Boeing and Airbus increase efforts to recruit skilled talent in India

To meet the increasing demand for aircraft and expand their manufacturing presence in India, Boeing Co. and Airbus SE are turning to the country for highly-skilled yet cost-effective engineers. India, being the world’s fifth-largest economy, is proving to be an attractive destination for both plane manufacturers.

Airbus has plans to hire 1,000 employees in India this year as part of its global workforce expansion of 13,000. Meanwhile, Boeing and its suppliers, who already employ about 18,000 people in India, have been growing their workforce by approximately 1,500 personnel annually, according to Salil Gupte, the India head for the US jet manufacturer, in an interview with Bloomberg News.

India produces approximately 1.5 million engineering graduates every year, providing a significant pool of talent for the record orders from airlines that plane makers are facing as travel rebounds after the Covid pandemic. With the cost of hiring an engineer in Bengaluru, India’s southern tech hub, being only 7% of the cost of a similar role in Seattle, according to salary data compiler Glassdoor, Boeing finds India to be an economical source of skilled workers.

During the Aero India show in Bengaluru last month, Gupte stated that India is home to the second-largest workforce for Boeing globally. He also mentioned that companies are attracted to India for its exceptional talent in innovation, not just in technology and software, but also in hard engineering and manufacturing. This makes India an ideal location for production and hiring.

Boeing and Airbus

Boeing and Airbus are also investing in production in India, as the country is positioning itself as a less politically contentious option than China. In fact, Boeing recently partnered with GMR Aero Technic Ltd. on March 10 to convert passenger jets to freighters in Hyderabad, a city in southern India where Boeing already has a facility producing vertical fins to stabilize planes. Additionally, the Hyderabad plant, which employs over 900 engineers and technicians, manufactures Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter structures, including fuselages for customers worldwide.

As it increases its workforce in India, Airbus has been highlighting the country’s potential as a manufacturing center. In October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended a ceremony in Gujarat to mark the beginning of construction on a facility where Airbus Defence & Space SA and a Tata Group subsidiary will manufacture C-295 transport aircraft for the Indian military. This move reflects India’s growing importance as an emerging market for sales, with both Airbus and rival Boeing securing orders from the revitalized Air India Ltd. In fact, just last month, the airline placed a blockbuster order for 470 aircraft, which will be split between the two manufacturers.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury believes that India is well-positioned to become an international hub, stating, “The time is right for India to turn into an international hub.” He made this comment in reference to the significant aircraft order from Air India. With its increasing focus on manufacturing and sales, India is becoming a crucial market for the aviation industry, and Airbus is optimistic about its prospects in the country.

Airbus

During the aircraft order, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury expressed his belief that India was well-positioned to become an international hub. He stated, “The time is right for India to turn into an international hub.” With a vast pool of highly educated, English-speaking individuals, India offers a highly attractive hiring ground.

Airbus has established an engineering center in Bengaluru with over 700 employees, as well as customer service centers in both Bengaluru and New Delhi that employ over 150 individuals. According to an Airbus representative who spoke to Bloomberg, India’s skilled workforce provides a “unique ability” to support the company’s operations. However, the representative also stated that hiring in India was not taking away jobs from other locations.

According to a Boeing representative, the company is leveraging India’s engineering, technology, and research and development talent. They plan to hire 10,000 people globally this year after adding nearly 15,000 in 2022, with a specific focus on engineering and manufacturing roles.

However, last month, the Seattle Times reported that Boeing would be cutting approximately 2,000 jobs, primarily in finance and human resources, without specifying the exact locations. Some of these roles will be outsourced to Tata’s consulting arm in India.

Gupte, in defense of Boeing’s hiring focus in India, stated that a larger workforce there would ultimately lead to an increase in jobs in the US. By expanding its manufacturing and innovation capabilities in India, the company would attract more customers and drive up demand for its products, which would ultimately create more employment opportunities.

Boeing

Gupte, who is based in Delhi, stated that Boeing tests some of its latest manufacturing technologies in India before implementing them in US factories, thus enhancing production efficiency.

In February, Boeing announced an investment of 2 billion rupees ($24 million) in a logistics park in India. The logistics park will primarily serve local airlines initially and then expand to serve a wider network of customers in the region. Additionally, Boeing plans to establish a support center for airlines near Delhi, which will employ numerous individuals.

For decades, companies have turned to India to outsource jobs, ranging from trade settlements to travel bookings. According to HSBC Holdings Plc, India currently hosts about 40% of the world’s global capability centers that provide tech, engineering, and IT support. However, there has been a recent shift towards outsourcing higher-skilled work for multinational companies, including research and business development.

Director of the Center For Employment Studies at the Institute of Human Development in Delhi, Ravi Srivastava, stated that the availability of workers in India at competitive global costs makes offshoring certain production processes a viable option. This shift has opened up opportunities for companies to take advantage of the talent pool available in India for their operations.

Israel Aerospace Industries, which has been working with partners in India for three decades on air and missile defense systems, drones, satellites, and other equipment, is among the companies in the sector that are joining in on the hiring spree. The rise of higher-skilled outsourcing work in India has given companies like Israel Aerospace Industries the ability to tap into a larger pool of talent for their operations.

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