The defence company hired an additional 1,400 people to work at its UK locations in 2024. This was including 450 on early careers schemes such as its Apprenticeship programme.
Young talent
It came out of the company’s preliminary full-year results, issued last week. According to the figures, orders, revenues and EBITA grew significantly over the last 12 months. New orders, for example, increased 12% to €20.9 billion, while revenues increased 11% to €17.8 billion. And its net debt also decreased by 23% to €1,795 million.
Leonardo highlighted the security threats faced by the UK and allies, and the resulting increase in demand for its advanced technology:
“All of this, enables Leonardo to increasingly play a leading role in the global Aerospace, Defense, and Security industry, with a growing ability to catalyze new alliances and establish a presence in strategically significant global programs,” said Roberto Cingolani, CEO and General Manager of Leonardo.
“The past year has also been significant in our progress in the field of sustainability. Leonardo is increasingly proving itself to be a company capable of attracting young talent, being inclusive, driving innovation, and improving its environmental impact. This is a substantial commitment that involves the entire company and its partners.”
In terms of the work split across the UK, Leonardo reported “strong performance” from Leonardo UK’s partnership role in both the Eurofighter Typhoon and Tempest/Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP). It also highlighted a “good underlying rotorcraft business” at Yeovil. Along with a “significant growth in cyber security”.
R&D
Mention was also made of AI research by Leonardo in the UK. And also research covering data fusion, autonomy and advanced manufacturing, modelling and simulation technologies.
The company estimates it contributes £2.5 billion to the UK’s GDP. And since 2018, Leonardo’s annual R&D spend has doubled to nearly £500 million.
The nine UK sites seeing the increased employment comprise: Basildon, Bristol, Edinburgh, Lincoln, London (HQ), Luton, Newcastle, Southampton and Yeovil.
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