California-based aircraft manufacturer Natilus is looking at several states – including Alabama – for a planned two-phase manufacturing operation that could eventually hire thousands.

Natilus announced last month that it had begun the process of selecting the site of its first U.S. manufacturing facility, to produce its regional blended-wing-body freighter, the Kona. The factory would then be expanded with a larger production footprint for Natilus’ 200-passenger aircraft, Horizon.

In announcing the project, Natilus said it was looking at regions in the U.S. with strong state and local incentive programs and facilities with adequate runway length, airspace clearance for testing, training and selloff facilities and proximity to suppliers and transportation.

The Business Journals is reporting that Alabama is a possible site, along with North Carolina, Georgia, Florida and Virginia.

The first phase would be a 250,000-square-foot facility able to make 60 KONA aircraft annually. The company plans to hire 300 full-time employees across manufacturing, aerospace, propulsion and test engineering, including production and quality roles, test pilots and machine technicians.

For the second phase, Natilus plans to build a 2.5 million square foot facility for production of the Horizon passenger aircraft, which is classed in the same segment as the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320. The company says it would be one of the largest manufacturing sites of its kind.

The factory would not come online until the early 2030s. Although an earlier announcement from the company said the factory would hire about 3,000 workers, the Business Journals quoted Natilus CEO and co-founder Aleksy Matyushev as saying the facility would hire more than 11,000 workers.

In addition to U.S. sites for the second phase, the company said it is looking at the United Arab Emirates, India and Saudi Arabia. However, tariffs by the Trump Administration, and retaliatory tariffs from other countries, may mean locating the factory in the U.S. to mitigate supply chain disruptions.

Natilus’s blended-wing-body aircraft will be made with carbon fiber airframes for advantages in fuel consumption, carbon emissions and payload capacity.

“By manufacturing the world’s first commercial blended-wing-body aircraft domestically, we hope to strengthen the U.S.’s position in the aviation industry,” Nolan Giblin, head of business development at Natilus, said. “This is the first of several moves Natilus has planned in its larger roadmap to supply major airlines with a more sustainable and cost-effective aircraft.”