ST Engineering is one of the world’s largest aerospace companies, providing aircraft maintenance, repair, and overhaul services to airlines globally. Its expansion in Pensacola, known as "Project Titan," was buoyed by $210 million in federal, state, and local subsidies. The promise? To bring more than 1,700 jobs to the city.
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But earlier this year, the company laid off more than 300 Chilean workers, raising concerns about its hiring practices and whether local residents were getting the job opportunities that public investment was supposed to create. At a press conference Monday, Mayor D.C. Reeves announced new steps to hold the company accountable.
"We've asked for a third-party look and understanding about their operation in terms of (local) recruitment," he said.
Reeves said that in addition to reviewing recruitment efforts, the city has demanded independent quarterly audits to verify ST Engineering's job creation numbers. The company is required to report on job creation as part of its contract with the city, but these new audits will provide more detailed data.
"We'll keep on the quarterly process, he said, "but it'll be significantly more information than what's required per the contract."
The mayor emphasized that verifying the local residency of workers will be part of these audits. That’s a key concern for city officials, who want to ensure that the jobs created by ST Engineering are benefiting Pensacolians —not workers commuting from outside the region.
"We do want them to live here," he said, "not be busing to or from anywhere else to help lower the value of that job creation."
Despite the controversy surrounding the layoffs, Reeves noted that ST Engineering had told the city they were ahead of schedule on their job creation goals for the year.
"I take them at their word," he said. "They sat in a meeting and looked me in the eye and told me they'd hit their job counts and they're ahead of them."
However, these new measures—like third-party reviews and more rigorous audits—are designed to verify that progress and increase transparency.
ST Engineering’s presence in Pensacola is part of a broader effort to establish the region as a hub for the aviation and aerospace sectors. The company’s hangars at Pensacola International Airport perform critical aircraft maintenance and repair work, and officials hope its expansion will draw more aerospace businesses to the region.
"We want jobs and job creation for this community and a return on investment for the taxpayer money," he said, "but just in recent weeks our trust has been shaken."
Mayor Reeves said that beyond holding ST accountable for its commitments, the city is also focused on ensuring the project delivers maximum value for workforce development. He announced plans for a follow-up meeting with local stakeholders, including the school district, Escambia County, and FloridaWest, to ensure the community benefits from the investment.
With ST Engineering claiming to be ahead on its job creation targets, and new accountability measures in place, Reeves expressed optimism that the project can move forward with greater transparency.
"We all have clarity of expectations," he said, "and we're all on the same page much more than when we walked in and much more than we have in the years that have preceded this."
But with more than $200 million in public funds invested, the city and its residents will be watching closely to ensure those promises translate into real opportunities for local workers.
