Boeing is significantly increasing its engineering recruitment in India, a shift that reflects the US’s growing reliance on India’s talent pool and the company’s efforts to diversify away from China. This move comes amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions and Boeing’s recent challenges with its 737 Max aircraft.
Boeing’s Careers site currently lists only five job openings in China, with three engineering positions available. In contrast, India boasts 83 openings, including 58 engineering roles, representing nearly 19 times more engineering positions in India than in China. This disparity has persisted for at least several weeks.
The company currently employs about 2,200 people in China and over 6,000 in India. Notably, India’s commercial aviation fleet is roughly one-sixth the size of China’s.
India is seen as a key opportunity for Boeing, with its burgeoning civil aviation market. In January, Boeing inaugurated its largest facility outside the US in Bengaluru, investing approximately $200 million in the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Centre (BIETC). “Given that there is so much potential in India, we need to rapidly build an aircraft manufacturing ecosystem in the country,” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the center’s inauguration.
Salil Gupta, Boeing India’s president, highlighted India’s unique position to support global aerospace needs, both in engineering and manufacturing. “The Indian market is an opportunity like no other, not just because of the opportunity to serve civil aviation and defense customers, but also because of the capability to support aerospace globally – both in engineering and manufacturing,” Gupta told Forbes India last year.
South Asia’s demand for aircraft is expected to rise significantly, with a need for 2,835 new aircraft by 2043, driven by India’s growth as the third-largest domestic airline market globally.
Boeing’s increased presence in India aligns with the “China plus one” strategy to diversify business operations, according to Amitendu Palit, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Institute of South Asian Studies. “India and the US are collaborating extensively on defense and technology, along with many other areas, including aerospace. (Boeing’s) greater role in India matches this idea of collaboration,” Palit said, adding that Airbus was also expanding its presence in India. “India is expected to emerge as a hub in aerospace manufacturing given its domestic demand, gradual growth as an aviation service hub for the Indo-Pacific, and a convenient location, other than China, for third-country exports,” Palit added.
China’s engineering expertise has been integral to Boeing’s success in forming a duopoly with Airbus in the global aircraft market. Boeing hired Wong Tsu, a Beijing-born aeronautical engineer and MIT graduate, in 1916 who played a crucial role in designing the Model C naval training seaplane, laying the foundation for Boeing’s future passenger planes.
Since the 1970s, Boeing has maintained a strong presence in China through various joint ventures, including engineering, maintenance, and research centers, and a 737 completion and delivery center. However, a Boeing China representative told South China Morning Post that the company does not disclose future hiring plans.
Boeing has faced turmoil recently, particularly following the 2018 Lion Air and 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crashes, which led to the grounding of the 737 Max and a significant reputational hit. While the company resumed 737 Max deliveries to China after addressing safety issues, the Chinese market has begun focusing on its own domestic aircraft, such as the C919 from the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac), which aims to compete with Boeing and Airbus.
China is poised to become the world’s largest aviation market in the next two decades, with Boeing projecting a need for 8,830 aircraft deliveries by 2043. Despite Boeing’s commitment to China as a top market priority, future expansions of the company’s workforce there remain unconfirmed.
Boeing’s move towards India comes at a time when the company is facing safety issues and quality control problems, including software failures and outsourcing concerns. A 2019 Bloomberg report revealed that Boeing had outsourced coding for Max software to temporary workers from India to cut costs. While Indian engineers contributed to some software development, Boeing has stated that these engineers were not involved in the systems linked to the 737 Max crashes.
China’s domestic passenger flow ranks third globally but is projected to become the largest by 2043. South Asia’s passenger traffic, currently ranked 14th, is expected to climb to seventh place by the same year, reflecting the region’s rapid growth in civil aviation.
