Moog Inc. to add 500 jobs to boost manufacturing operations (2024)

Moog Inc. plans to add 500 local jobs over the next five years, a significant boost for one of the region's largest manufacturers.

The Elma-based motion control equipment maker said it will invest $25 million in high-tech equipment purchases and building renovations.

The investment will support its work on programs including the military's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, along with flight training simulators, and the hardware Moog makes for satellite and NASA programs.

Moog has over 3,500 employees in Western New York. It's already one of the region's largest employers, and the new jobs – including in engineering and advanced manufacturing – are the type of good-paying jobs that economic development officials are trying to lure to the region.

"Our investments in buildings and advanced manufacturing equipment are helping to create new jobs in the highly skilled manufacturing sector," said John Scannell, Moog's chairman and CEO. "These jobs are across multiple end markets including defense, space and the electrification of construction equipment."

The new Moog jobs, coupled with 363 positions that fintech firm AML RightSource plans to add over the next four years, are a welcome boost for a Buffalo Niagara job market that has lagged behind the nation in regaining positions lost during the pandemic.

The region currently has 36,000 fewer jobs than it did at the start of the pandemic – a 6% shortfall that is four times bigger than the 1.4% jobs gap nationwide.

Moog's investment also reinforces the local presence of a homegrown manufacturer that has operations around the world. In its last fiscal year, Moog recorded profits of $157 million and nearly $3 billion in sales.

Scannell said the expansion will build on Moog programs and capabilities that have good prospects.

"We are very excited about the long-term opportunities these markets present for our base in East Aurora," Scannell said. "Investment in organic growth, with the support of the state of New York, will ensure the continued success of Moog into the decades to come.”

The state will provide up to $15 million in Excelsior Jobs program tax credits if Moog meets its job creation commitments. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Moog's plans during a visit to Seneca One on Friday, as she runs for election to a full, four-year term.

Hochul said she visited Moog multiple times when she was a congresswoman serving on the Armed Services Committee.

"I knew the work that was being done right here, made with Western New Yorkers' hands, is critical to defending our national security across the globe," she said.

Hochul said the new jobs at Moog and AML RightSource underscore the importance of having a workforce capable of filling new openings, as the state competes for economic development projects.

"We have to continue focusing on our workforce development," she said. "If we don't start listening to employers, finding out the skills they're looking for at AML RightSource or at Moog and all these other businesses, then we're not going to win this game. We have to deliver them people that are ready – not just shovel-ready sites, but work-ready people."

Moog will hire in areas including engineering, production line workers, assembly and test, machinists and technicians, manufacturing and support, and administration. The new space will provide additional manufacturing space along with areas for research, development and support staff.

Moog has continued to expand its local operations in recent years.

In 2020, the company completed a 95,000-square-foot expansion of its headquarters. The $44 million project, which supported Moog's aircraft business, created 100 new jobs.

Moog also upgraded a facility in the Town of Wheatfield. That $20.5 million project, which supports Moog's space business, also created 100 jobs.

Heather Chudzik, director of tax for Moog, said the company continues to innovate, by investing in electrification of controls for construction equipment, and developing an orbital maneuvering vehicle, which is used to disperse small satellite constellations.

The Buffalo Niagara's manufacturing sector had about 51,000 jobs in January – down about 29% from 20 years ago, but still accounting for a significant segment of the region's job count. And those jobs pay about 32% more than the region's average job, according to federal wage data.

New investments, like the $25 million project Moog is preparing for at its Elma campus, ensure those manufacturers' operations stay current and competitive.

General Motors recently announced it would invest $154 million in its Lockport components plant, to support manufacturing of parts for electric vehicles. That project calls for adding 230 jobs to the workforce over the next few years.