Airbus Canada plans to create 500 new jobs across the country, most of which will be in Quebec, to accelerate the production rate of the A220 aircraft being built at Mirabel in the Laurentians.

Overall, the French multinational announced on Wednesday that it plans to hire 800 people across the country in 2024. Of these, 300 positions are aimed at filling a retirement and 500 are linked to the creation of a new job.

The announcement comes as Airbus seeks to accelerate the production rate of the legacy CSeries, which will be assembled in Mirabel and Mobile, Alabama. This goal is linked to achieving profitability “by mid-decade” by producing 14 aircraft per month.

In 2022, Airbus hired 400 people related to the A220 program at Mirabel, Airbus Canada President and CEO Benoît Schultz said in a press release. In autumn 2021, the subsidiary indicated that it wanted to hire 500 employees for the Mirabel plant over a period of several years in addition to the positions to be filled. The employer thus achieved 80% of its goal, which was not subject to a deadline.

The company will need even more hands given labor shortages and while supply chain disruptions have delayed ramping up the production rate of the A220. In late January, Schultz said he was confident of hitting his targets and being able to ramp up production in the coming months.

Airbus Canada has indicated that 700 of the 800 positions advertised in 2024 will be in Quebec. This includes 450 new positions.

Airbus Canada wants one-third of the 800 positions advertised nationwide to be assigned to young professionals early in their careers. She also wants a third of her hires and promotions to go to women.

Hiring plans in Canada are part of the French planemaker’s global strategy. At the end of January, Airbus announced its intention to hire 13,000 people worldwide in 2024. This corresponds to 7,000 new jobs and 6,000 new appointments. The company had said at least two-thirds of its hiring would be in Europe, but had not yet set targets for Canada.