Growing geopolitical tension is driving unprecedented demand for weapons.
Last year, the war in Ukraine weighed on American ammunition stocks, and the Pentagon was slow to replace its inventory, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Many weapons sent to Ukraine came from existing stockpiles, and current production capacity is unable to handle the sudden rise in new orders, according to the WSJ.
In the past six months, the U.S. supplied Ukraine with 16 rocket launchers, thousands of guns, drones, missiles, and other military equipment, per the WSJ.
Defense companies are racing to hire new employees to meet the growing demand as the U.S. and its allies look to replenish their artillery.
“Our first priority is really to ramp up capacity, which, of course, means increasing staff,” Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales SA, a French defense contractor that plans to hire 12,000 people this year, per the WSJ.
Several other European defense companies plan to ramp up hiring, including missile manufacturer MBDA, jet fighter producer Saab AB, and German company Rheinmetall AG, according to the WSJ.
“Defense companies are worried at the moment about recruitment,” chief economist at ADS Group, Aimie Stone, said, per the WSJ.
The hiring comes amid a global backdrop of increased military spending, which grew 3.7% last year, to a record $2.24 trillion in 2022, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
SIPRI said that military expenditures in Europe saw a 13% gain, the largest year-over-year increase in 30 years.
While hiring for defense can be a tricky process, one that requires skilled workers and security clearances, defense companies are also facing a chip shortage and increasing costs.
Defense companies are competing with auto and airplane manufacturers for talent, who often pay more and require fewer security clearance measures, Kieran Slaughter, a defense recruiter at Mane Contract Services, said, according to the WSJ.
Security clearance for a defense job can take two to eight weeks in Europe and even longer in the U.S.
“Some candidates don’t want to wait around,” Slaughter said, per the WSJ.
Companies are also battling employee attrition as the pandemic led to the retirement of some senior staff. General Dynamics hired 24,000 employees in 2022, but its headcount only grew by 3,400 due to attrition and retirements, according to the WSJ.
Other companies face challenges recruiting workers to their remote factories. Due to environmental and safety concerns, munitions manufacturers often place their factories in remote locations.
“It’s a tough place sometimes to recruit people to,” Paula Hartley, vice president of enterprise performance at Lockheed Martin, said, referring to her company’s factory in Camden, Arkansas, which has a population of just over 10,000.
A report from Morning Consult, however, says approximately 34% of tech workers are now more likely to give the defense sector a chance compared to a year ago.
BAE, Europe’s largest defense company, said it is seeing more applicants from the tech space after a wave of tech layoffs put thousands of workers with specialized skills into the employee pool.
The company’s HR director Tania Gandamihardja told the WSJ that the defense industry’s perception is improving after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West’s subsequent contribution of weapons to Ukraine.
“People are suddenly realizing that the defense industry is one of the solutions to help.”
