The French commercial jet manufacturing giant Airbus this week held the official opening of its first manufacturing facility in the United States, at a sprawling new plant in Mobile, Alabama. The facility has been in operation since July and Airbus expects to deliver its first U.S.-built airplane next year.
The $600 million, 53-acre facility will assemble Airbus A319, A320 and A321 single-aisle jetliners. By 2018, Airbus expects to deliver 40 to 50 airplanes per year out of Mobile. So far, about 260 people have begun working at the facility assembling two A321s. But as production ramps up, Airbus expects to employ as many as 3,700 people at the new facility.
