Defense giant Thales is looking for 12,000 employees, 400 jobs in the Netherlands

French technology and defense company Thales Group plans to hire 12,000 employees this year due to high demand for war equipment following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the Netherlands, Thales is looking for about 400 new employees, reported the company, which has sites in Hengelo, Delft, Huizen, Eindhoven, Breda, and Rotterdam.

About 40 percent of the new employees will be in research and development. Nearly 9,000 of the new employees to be hired will work in Europe, most (5,500) in France. The rest will work in North America, Asia and Australia. Thales also expects a large number of employees to leave the company, for example through retirement, so that 4,000 additional employees will be hired this year.

The company also hired 11,500 employees last year and will employ tens of thousands in 68 countries by the end of 2022. The search for thousands of new employees follows the release of large defense budgets by European countries.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for example, announced a special fund of 100 billion euros to expand the German army shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. France last month pledged to spend 400 billion euros on defense between 2024 and 2030.

"We are focused on defense, aeronautics and security, and these three pillars offer many opportunities for growth," said human resources chief Clément de Villepin. "Our markets and customers are asking us to accelerate in these three areas."