BAE Systems to spend billions on growth and hire thousands more staff
BAE Systems has said it plans to hire thousands more staff as the company prepares for an increase in global defence spending.
Shares in the London-listed company have rocketed more than 50 per cent since the start of the year. This morning, it said it plans to recruit as many as 2,400 new apprentices, undergraduates, and graduates this year in the UK alone.
The British defence business said it was building on its more than £1bn capex splurge in 2024 to increase capacity for the future. This includes work on a new explosives filling facility in South Wales, a new shipbuilding assembly hall in Glasgow, and a modern ship lift and land-level repair complex in Florida, all of which are set to become operational in the summer.
BAE shrugged off concerns over US tariffs, insisting trading was set to continue in line with management’s expectations, adding that its US production facilities meant that its US operations are produced with a “largely domestic” supply chain.
BAE gears up to support NATO
NATO countries across Europe have pledged major increases in defence spending in recent months as they prepare for the growing threat of Russia as well as the spectre of reduced military support from the US. The UK has pledged to increase defence spending to at least 2.5 per cent of GDP.
BAE said: “The regions in which we operate are poised for higher defence spending. We expect this to provide a robust set of further opportunities across all our sectors.
“We have a strong, established position in Europe and our range of products and services aligns well to the capability requirements of these nations. These include combat aircraft, combat vehicles, air defence, missile systems, artillery, munitions, drones, electronic warfare and sensor technology.
“Our key markets in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East are also expected to see higher defence spending, and we will continue to support our government customers in these regions with leading products and services.”
BAE has guided full-year revenue growth of between seven and nine per cent on last year’s turnover of £28.3bn.