A&T Hails Historic JetZero Announcement, Supports Workforce Needs

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (June 12, 2025) – JetZero has announced a $4.7 billion investment for a production facility at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) in Greensboro, North Carolina, with plans to create more than 14,500 jobs.

This news stands as the largest job announcement in North Carolina’s history.

The company and the state will work closely together to create customized workforce development and training programs, including through North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and its College of Engineering (COE), which is the nation’s No. 1 producer of African American graduates in engineering and whose Department of Mechanical Engineering offers an aerospace option for undergraduate students.

This fall, N.C. A&T also will enroll its first B.S. in AI students. The only degree of its kind in North Carolina, it offers two concentrations: Advanced AI Systems, offered through the COE, and Applied AI in the College of Science and Technology.

“Today’s announcement from JetZero is an enormous win for everybody in the Piedmont Triad Region. It’s strong validation of the fact that we have become gravitational as a region for the aviation industry, for advanced manufacturing and for new partnerships,” said Chancellor James R. Martin II, who was on hand for the announcement. “We worked together as a region and state to attract JetZero, and its major new presence here will have significant impact, as well as help attract other new businesses for the Triad.”

“In a joint effort with Guilford Technical Community College and other colleges in the region, we’re excited to move forward into implementing a customized program that will set Jet Zero up for workforce onboarding success here in North Carolina,” said John Loyack, vice president of economic development for the North Carolina Community College System.

The JetZero factory will be located on PTI property, and will house production for the company’s commercial all-wing design airplane, the Z4. The facility, designed to be a “factory of the future,” will be fully digital and artificial intelligence-driven to outpace legacy original equipment manufacturers by ramping up faster, cutting unit costs, boosting quality and hardening supply chain.

JetZero’s headquarters will officially move from Long Beach, California, to Greensboro once the site is operational. The company plans to break ground on the facility in the first half of 2026.

The company’s Z4 planes are equipped with seating for 250 passengers, at up to 50% better fuel efficiency than today’s commercial tube and wing jets. The company plans to have its first commercial airplanes delivered by the early 2030s.

“I am thrilled to welcome JetZero and its 14,000 good-paying jobs and unprecedented innovation to Guilford County,” said Gov. Josh Stein. “From first in flight to now the future of flight, North Carolina and our skilled workforce are soaring.”

North Carolina is uniquely positioned to support Jet Zero’s growth, with a plentiful and skilled labor force of 5.5 million, and more than 49,000 engineers. Additionally, the state is the nation's leading manufacturing workforce in the Southeast, and with more than 30,000 STEM degrees awarded annually — the state provides a strong, sustainable talent pipeline for years to come.

“North Carolina offers the ideal combination of talent, infrastructure, and forward-thinking leadership to support our mission to reshape aviation,” said Tom O’Leary, CEO and co-founder of JetZero. “This facility is a critical milestone in bringing our all-wing Z4 to market. I applaud the leadership of Gov. Josh Stein and his team as well as the leadership of the North Carolina General Assembly, and a whole host of local leaders and organizations for working with us to bring JetZero to North Carolina, the birthplace of aviation.”

Additionally, North Carolina provides an attractive business climate for companies like JetZero. Ranked by CNBC as a top three state for business for five consecutive years,, the state has the lowest corporate tax rate at 2.25% and falling%, and a cost of living 5% below the national average. Well aligned with JetZero's commitment to sustainability, North Carolina also offers low cost of energy and has a bipartisan approach to renewable energy leadership and sustainability.

“North Carolina is one of the top eight states in the nation in research funding and expenditures, but we rank considerably lower in converting research into local gross domestic product,” said Martin. “Through partnerships with key companies like JetZero and clustering around industries like aviation, we will significantly accelerate impact in converting research into GDP and keeping innovation in North Carolina rather than seeing it move to other states.”

“This announcement is a testament to North Carolina’s growing reputation as a magnet for aerospace innovation and top-tier STEM talent,” said Christopher Chung, CEO of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. “With our rapidly growing population and dynamic workforce, we're attracting industry leaders to create quality jobs that will strengthen our local economy and communities across the state.”

The JetZero facility will create thousands of direct advanced manufacturing and engineering jobs, and indirect and induced jobs via suppliers and services providers. Jobs offered at the facility will have average wages above $89,000 per year. Additionally, becoming the next aerospace hub in the U.S. will create significant opportunities for North Carolina students, from high school and community college graduates to degree holders from the state’s higher education system.

“This is a pivotal point for our region,” said Alfredo Romero, Ph.D., Department of Economics chair at A&T’s Willie A. Deese College of Business and Economics. “It’s going to make the Triad a major player in advanced manufacturing, a major player in clean technology, and it will boost our economy for decades to come.”

The nation’s largest historically Black university for 11 consecutive years, A&T prepares students to advance the human condition and facilitate economic growth in North Carolina and beyond. As part of this mission, the university has played a critical role in attracting global manufacturing companies such as Boom Supersonic, Honda, Corning, Merck, Toyota and Apple to the region and state.

“North Carolina A&T is at the epicenter of these efforts in the Piedmont Triad. Like JetZero, we are future focused and driven by innovation. JetZero is changing air travel, A&T is changing higher education,” said Martin. “We are leading in the development of a lucrative technology ecosystem in the Triad that will benefit JetZero as well as other advanced manufacturing, aviation and space technology businesses.

“I look forward to the outstanding opportunities that our graduates, our faculty researchers and our community will have with JetZero and to continuing to build a collaborative relationship with our new neighbors as we welcome them to Greensboro.”