Robust demand for Gulfstream’s new ultra-large-cabin G650 jet is driving a hiring surge in the company’s Greenville, Wis., plant, which has added about 60 new jobs so far this year and plans to fill 30 to 40 more positions in the next few months. General manager Gregory Laabs told the Appleton Post-Crescent the company has more than 200 orders for the G650, which will keep the work force busy at least until 2017. The job openings are “across the board from design work to engineering,” Laabs said. “And we also have positions for cabinet finishing and some sheet metal posts. There are many good jobs still available.” The $58 million G650 started deliveries in December.
The G650, with a top cruise speed of Mach 0.925, is the fastest certified civilian aircraft in production, a place it wrested from Cessna’s Citation X. Cessna, however, plans to re-take that title with the upgraded Citation X, which will max out at Mach 0.935. Deliveries of the X are expected to begin later this year.
