Around 200 jobs are to be created by GE Oil & Gas next year when it opens a sub-sea centre at Aztec West.
In a major boost to the Bristol area’s existing advanced engineering industry, GE said the new centre would complement its existing base at Nailsea where it employs 550 staff and has recently invested £620,000.
Most of the new jobs will be in engineering and project management.
GE said it was expanding in the UK in response to growth in its underwater engineering workload, which includes drilling and production services in the North Sea.
“The expansion is a direct response to the growth being experienced by the organisation’s subsea business, a trend that it expects to continue in future years,” GE said.
GE Oil & Gas provides equipment and services for offshore and onshore, including turbo-machinery, drilling and surface, subsea and pipeline facilities, with 35,000 staff.
Vice-president for Subsea Systems at GE Oil & Gas, Rod Christie, said: “The area has a strong pool of high integrity industries, such as aerospace, defence, nuclear and automotive that we can tap into, allowing us to realise our growth goals more readily.
“Establishing a stronger presence in Bristol will enable us to bring new, and much needed, skilled staff into our global organisation, supporting the capabilities of our existing sub-sea hub in Aberdeen.”
