© 2024 University of Missouri - KBIA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Airbus Opens First U.S. Factory In Alabama

A model of an Airbus A320 jetliner is seen as Allan McArtor, Airbus Group, Inc. Chairman and CEO, speaks at a press conference in Mobile, Alabama, on September 13, 2015. Airbus will inaugurate its first US manufacturing facility on September 14.    (Nicholas Kamm/Getty)
A model of an Airbus A320 jetliner is seen as Allan McArtor, Airbus Group, Inc. Chairman and CEO, speaks at a press conference in Mobile, Alabama, on September 13, 2015. Airbus will inaugurate its first US manufacturing facility on September 14. (Nicholas Kamm/Getty)

The French plane maker Airbus opens its first factory in the U.S. today. The $600 million plant in Mobile, Alabama, is touted as a solution to the company’s need to expand low-cost production to meet a major backlog in demand. It also boldly bids for market share in the territory of Airbus’s American rival, Boeing.

Here & Now‘s Peter O’Dowd speaks with CBS News’ Business Analyst Jill Schlesinger about the impact of this factory.

Guest

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.