GE Aviation has started the initial hiring of employees for the $100 million jet engine manufacturing plant it’s building in Lafayette.
The company announced plans for the factory in March, with officials saying they anticipated the plant having more than 200 workers within five years.
Plant manager Eric Matteson told WLFI-TV he expects to have eight employees by the end of January and to hire 10 technicians on in March. Matteson plans to have nearly 30 workers by September.
Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski said the factory will give opportunities for high-skilled jobs requiring certifications in aircraft mechanics.
“As this facility moves forward in its construction phases, you want to have people trained when they have to get ready to set the machinery and bring in the equipment and those things,” Roswarski said. “So it’s great to see that hiring process start.”
The factory is expected to open during 2016 in a Lafayette industrial park. The new engine it is to produce will be used by passenger jets built by Airbus, Boeing and Chinese company Comac for airlines worldwide, according to GE Aviation, which is based in suburban Cincinnati.
The new engine is expected to have a 15 percent improvement in fuel efficiency over current engines along with being quieter and having lower emissions, the company said.
Matteson said the majority of the factory’s anticipated 200 jobs will be filled between 2016 and 2018.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense