Airbus set to announce thousands of job cuts, unions say
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[June 30, 2020] By
Julie Rimbert and Johanna Decorse
TOULOUSE (Reuters) - Airbus is set to
announce on Tuesday a restructuring involving thousands of job cuts as
it deals with the fallout from impact of the coronavirus crisis, union
officials said.
Airbus, which has said it will announce fresh action by the end of July
after introducing temporary furloughs, declined to comment. Its shares
rose 1%.
Reuters reported on Monday that the company's bigger-ever plan to shrink
operations and staff was imminent.
Industry sources have predicted between 14,000 and 20,000 job cuts,
though it remains unclear how much will be achieved through early
retirements in Airbus's 135,000-strong workforce, heavily populated by
veterans of its original A320 development.
Unions oppose the cuts.
"Airbus will announce measures that could have strong employment
consequences," CGT union official Xavier Petrachi said, adding the union
would oppose outright redundancies.
The health of the group is on the agenda for a European works council
being held on Tuesday.
The company will brief unions on the status of orders and aircraft
cancellations as it prepares to keep production lower than previously
planned for up to five years.
Exceptional secrecy surrounds the politically sensitive restructuring
affecting jobs in Britain, France, Germany and Spain, the company's key
backers in a fierce contest with U.S. rival Boeing for orders and
industrial clout.
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The logo of Airbus is
pictured at the entrance of the Airbus facility in Bouguenais, near
Nantes, France April 27, 2020. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
Airbus is expected to juggle its response to the industry's worst crisis with
pressure to keep cuts to a minimum after France and Germany announced plans to
support aerospace.
Michel Pierre, representing the CFDT union at Airbus, said Airbus had refused
direct state intervention in its capital, upholding corporate governance reforms
in 2013. Compulsory sackings would therefore be "totally unacceptable," he said.
Industry sources say Airbus is basing the restructuring on a 40% drop in
underlying aircraft production for two years.
The company's programmes chief, meanwhile, said it was slowing a push into
high-margin services as a result of a slump in air travel but maintaining its
diversification strategy.
Some industry sources say Airbus has all but abandoned a goal of more than
doubling services revenue to $10 billion this decade and transferred some staff
to other roles.
(Writing by Tim Hepher; Editing by Richard Lough and Mark Potter)
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