European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has announced it must cut 15,000 jobs, mostly in Europe, in order to safeguard its future.
In a statement outlining its plan to adapt to the Covid-19 environment, the firm announced a 'necessary reduction' of approximately 15,000 positions across its global workforce by summer 2021.
By location, Airbus will axe 5,000 positions in France, 5,100 positions in Germany, 900 in Spain, 1,700 in the UK, and 1,300 positions at its other worldwide sites. These figures do not include around 900 positions stemming from a pre-Covid-19 need to restructure Premium Aerotec in Germany, which will also now be implemented alongside its Covid-19 adaptation plan.
According to Airbus, commercial aircraft business activity has dropped by around 40% in recent months due to Covid-19 restrictions. With air traffic not expected to recover to pre-Covid levels before 2023, and potentially as late as 2025, the firm said it needed to take additional measures to 'reflect the post-Covid-19 industry outlook'.
Airbus said it will work with its social partners to limit the impact of this plan by relying on voluntary departures, early retirement and long-term partial unemployment schemes where appropriate.
"Airbus is facing the gravest crisis this industry has ever experienced," said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. "The measures we have taken so far have enabled us to absorb the initial shock of this global pandemic. Now, we must ensure that we can sustain our enterprise and emerge from the crisis as a healthy, global aerospace leader, adjusting to the overwhelming challenges of our customers."
Faury stated Airbus' management team and Board of Directors were fully committed to limiting the social impact of the firm's Covid-19 adaptation plan. Listen to his full statement below:
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In March, Airbus awarded TriMas Aerospace’s Monogram Aerospace Fasteners and Allfast Fastening Systems operations new multi-year supply contracts.
