Shorts Belfast to recruit 330 workers

Belfast aerospace company Shorts is to recruit over 300 workers after an upturn in orders for aircraft built by its Canadian …

Belfast aerospace company Shorts is to recruit over 300 workers after an upturn in orders for aircraft built by its Canadian parent, it was announced today.

News of the 330 positions came as Montreal-headquartered Bombardier announced better than expected third quarter results and increased orders.

The Belfast plant makes parts including wings and some of the fuselage for Bombardier's CRJ700 and 900 regional jets. A Belfast spokesman said: "We welcome the recent upturn in the market, particularly given the difficult time we have experienced over the past few years.

"Since the start of this year, Bombardier's current products have seen a significant growth in demand and the outlook is positive.

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"We are now striving to achieve a more stable working environment for our existing employees in Belfast, whilst at the same time managing future market fluctuations and evolving customer requirements."

The new jobs will be for a mixture of both permanent and temporary workers - the bulk expected to be temporary. The company, once the largest manufacturing employer in Northern Ireland, has seen its workforce decline over recent years.

It currently has a core workforce of around 5,000, together with additional temporary workers.

Last October the company made 440 workers redundant, 300 voluntarily, but managed to stave off a further 200 job cuts. It is expected many of the new posts will be offered to workers who were made redundant.