By Tiffany Griffith 
December 30, 2011
 
Call it a delayed Christmas present: Jacksonville will start off the new year with a major company bringing jobs to the First Coast.

Mayor Alvin Brown just got word that Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, will start building military planes at Jacksonville International Airport. The money to bring them here is coming from the Defense Department.

"It's a $355 million contract and it's going to immediately create 50 jobs for our great city," says Brown.

Brown says the push to bring Embraer here was an effort by local, state and federal leaders who traveled between South America and Washington, D.C. Mayor Brown credited the broad coalition of public and private sector partners which joined forces to make this achievement possible. "This announcement is yet another example of what we can accomplish when we work together," said Mayor Brown. "Today's success was a real team effort."

Brown pledged to work closely with Embraer to make its aircraft assembly efforts a success. "I have developed a great working relationship with U.S. Embraer President Gary Spulak and his team, and look forward to our doing whatever the City can to be a good partner in this critical initiative for our armed forces and our economy."

Be looking for those job openings as early as the first few months of 2012. For more information, visit the Embraer website.

Source: http://bit.ly/vXYBvS