Airbus breaks ground in Mobile

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - Airbus is starting construction on its first U.S. assembly plant with a ceremony in Mobile. Top company executives and state leaders were in the port city Monday for a ground-breaking at the Airbus site at Brookley Aeroplex. Gov. Robert Bentley says the start of work marks a "great day for Alabama." A jetliner parked behind the stage provided a backdrop for the occasion. The $600 million factory is expected to employ 1,000 people once production of the Airbus A320 jet begins around 2015. The Mobile factory will join Airbus assembly plants in France, Germany and China. The state's first major Airbus supplier, Safran Engineering Services, also is opening its new office in Mobile. The company plans to employ as many as 50 people at an engineering support facility.