Henry Smith MP is delighted that Thales UK has increased its presence in the town by shifting its Air Traffic Management unit to Crawley, including around 50 job positions.
Henry said:
“I’m thankful that our town continues to buck the trend, with job creation in the town consistently growing and subsequent unemployment equating to half the national average at 3.9% and falling. We’ve seen thousands of new jobs created over the last year as well as an increasingly skilled workforce resulting from a 74% rise in Apprenticeships in the past year. Furthermore, the new £6 billion Thameslink project, which through the Siemens deal alone will see 600 new local jobs created, will provide a massive boost for the town’s economy.
“I’m pleased that Thales UK has taken the opportunity to situate more of its work in Crawley. This move will undoubtedly help facilitate growth within the area and it further underlines Crawley as an ideal location for new business opportunities. The town’s role as the region’s engine room is further underpinned by the fact that so many world class companies, such as Nestle and Virgin Atlantic, wish to locate here.
“Thales is committed to reducing the effect of air travel on the environment in their design of more efficient air traffic management systems and this is a goal which has my full support. The interests of Gatwick Airport are central to our local community and I’m happy that Thales has decided to increase their presence in Crawley, thus augmenting their efforts to manage the challenges related to continuous air traffic in the area.”
Thales, a world-leading provider of onboard and ground systems for the civil aerospace market, has recently brought forward a proposal which would result in a significant increase in the number of employees from their Air Traffic Management (ATM) division based in Crawley.