Rail company Alstom to hire 7,500 people worldwide, 1,000 in France

French railway equipment manufacturer Alstom has announced plans to hire 7,500 people worldwide this year, including 1,000 in France. The new jobs are to meet rising demand and record orders totalling 78 billion euros last year.

The firm hopes to hire 6,000 engineers and managers as well as 1,500 workers and technicians.

"These hires are aimed at projects involving rolling stock, signals, and services," Alstom said in a statement.

Order books have swollen since the company bought Canadian Bombardier Transport last year.

"The company doubled in size a year ago, we are present in 70 countries and our order sheet is quite big," said the group's director of human resources, Anne-Sophie Chauveau-Galas.

Alstom's flagship constructions include high-speed TGV trains, the commuter rail network in Johannesburg, the Paris metro and the tramway in Berlin.

It announced earlier this month a 1.8-billion-euro deal to supply up to 200 regional trains to Norway.

The framework contract with public rail company Norske Tog includes an initial firm order for 30 trains worth 380 million euros, Alstom said.

Development in France

The firm currently employs 72,000 salaried staff around the world.

It said it plans to recruit 3,900 people in Europe, 1,700 in the Asia-Pacific region, 1,500 in North and South America, and 400 in Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

It also said it wants more women on board, particularly at management and engineering level. Only 23 percent of Alstom staff are female. That should increase to 28 percent by 2025.

Among the Europe-wide hires, some 1,000 will be in France, notably in mechanical engineering and services, but also qualified welders for the company's production plants.

France's economy minister Bruno Le Maire welcomed the home-grown job creation. "It proves that we are suceeding in our reindustralisation," he told Public Senat TV on Friday.