French power giant EDF to hire 3,000 staff this year to build new nuclear power stations

The company logo of Electricite de France (EDF) is seen at an office building at the financial and business district of La Defense in Puteaux near Paris, France. Picture: Sarah Meyssonnier/ Reuters

French state-owned utility EDF said it would hire more than 3,000 staff this year as France prepares to build at least six next-generation EPR2 reactors and extend the lives of existing sites.

The company is aiming to recruit 1,600 engineers and the same number of technicians by the end of the year, it said, confirming earlier media reports.

The move comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a new energy strategy that puts nuclear power at the heart of a drive for carbon neutrality by 2050, with public funds of billions of euros to be mobilised.

Franceinfo radio first reported on the new EDF hires, saying thousands more would follow over the next few years to bring about the country's nuclear renaissance.

The first new reactor, an evolution of the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), will come online by 2035, President Macron said.

 - Reuters