HARTFORD–Thousands of jobs are expected to open in Connecticut as aerospace company Pratt & Whitney plans significant expansion.
The company announced on Friday that it would be hiring 25,000 new workers worldwide over the next 10 years, and that in Connecticut there would be about 8,000 new hires. However, some of those new employees will be filling positions that are currently filled by people retiring or leaving through attrition.
The new jobs are to satisfy a large backlog in work that the company has due to new projects. The company plans to manufacture 150 engines this year, and increase that number to 1,400 per year by 2020.
The jobs will be filled over about 10 years through incremental hiring, and will include about 1,000 engineers in Connecticut.
Pratt & Whitney told FOX 61 that since January 2015, about 1,500 hires were made in the state, representing about 1/3 of the worldwide hires the company has in that time period. Connecticut is Pratt & Whitney’s largest location by employee count.
Gov. Dan Malloy released the following statement:
We are proud of Pratt & Whitney’s presence in Connecticut and are thrilled with their commitment to our state. This is announcement is proof positive that we are moving in the right direction and our investments – including the historic deal made with United Technologies in 2014 – have been successful in encouraging companies to expand right here in Connecticut. We are adding jobs in key, cutting-edge industries due to strategic investments, and have used competitive economic development policy to foster growth – but we must continue to do more to make Connecticut an economic hub of the region and the nation.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman also released a statement:
This is great news for Connecticut and the region. We are the proud home to some of the nation’s most talented aerospace and defense manufacturers and suppliers – and we’ve made investing in our next generation workforce a priority. Governor Malloy, Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development, and the legislature have worked hard to improve the state’s business climate and it’s working. I applaud Pratt & Whitney President Robert Leduc and his team for their commitment to our state.
