Spirit expects to hire more than 4,600 workers through 2024 and expand facilities
Spirit AeroSystems expects to hire more than 4,600 workers in Wichita by 2024, gaining ground on the jobs the company lost since the grounding of the 737 Max and the coronavirus pandemic.
Adam Pogue, vice president of manufacturing services for Spirit, provided the aviation company’s employment forecast at the City Council meeting Tuesday.
Spirit is planning an expansion of its manufacturing facility at 3800 S. Oliver in south Wichita by 55,000 square feet. Air Capital Flight Line would construct the expansion and requested a letter of intent to issue Industrial Revenue Bonds up to $8.9 million.
Spirit estimates the cost of the new building expansion at $7.5 to $8 million, according to a presentation Pogue prepared for City Council members.
Air Capital Flight Line also requested a 100% ad valorem tax abatement and a sales tax exemption on eligible construction materials. City Council members approved a motion to authorize necessary signatures Tuesday.
As a result of the expansion, Spirit expects to add 150 new jobs with wages of more than $100,000.
“Spirit has been working hard to come back from the challenge of the pandemic,” said Scot Rigby, assistant city manager and director of development services. “They’ve been expanding their activities not just on commercial aircraft but also defense and other activities.”
“We think it’s a good project because it diversifies their workload, which means stability in the future for future challenges.”
Employment forecast
Spirit ended 2019 with more than 13,200 employees in Wichita, according to Pogue’s report. By the end of 2020, the company employed about 8,000 workers in Wichita.
Between layoffs and voluntary separations, Spirit lost about 5,222 workers locally.
The employment projections, which are based on current market conditions, show Spirit’s total employment in Wichita could come to 12,619 workers by 2024 — still fewer employees than it had at the end of 2019, but more than it has by now.
The forecast shows Spirit expects to add:
- 910 new jobs in 2021
- 1,945 new jobs in 2022
- 657 new jobs in 2023
- 1,107 new jobs in 2024
That’s a total of 4,619 new jobs from now to 2024. The company would hire as needed in 2025 and beyond.
Pogue reported that Spirit currently employs about 8,300 workers locally. The company brought on around 714 people through recalls and new hires.
To recruit and hire workers, Spirit is adding 15 people to help the human resources team with hiring and on-boarding Wichita employees. The company also plans to keep up its efforts through summer internship programs and a partnership with the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas to drive jobs.
Spirit is also offering referral bonuses for certain technical engineering positions and relocation packages for some salaried and management roles.
In addition to sharing Spirit’s employment forecast Tuesday, Pogue also told City Council members that the company is investing in automation in manufacturing. The company introduced automated floor beam assembly lines and curve panel assembly.
In May, a revised Wichita employment forecast showed that jobs in aviation manufacturing could rebound faster than expected by this summer, according to Wichita State University’s Center for Economic Development and Business Research.
“Now that we’re seeing good recovery out of the pandemic and post 737 Max grounding, we see the rates heading back in the right direction in terms of what we need to continue to meet our commitments and increase employment,” Pogue said.
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 4:00 PM.
