- Airbus draws the consequences of the immense difficulties of the airlines hit hard by the containment measures.
- The group announces the reduction of about a third of its aircraft production.
- The aeronautical industrialist will start new negotiations with its unions and now has the priority of "protecting" its employees.
Around the world, planes are grounded due to coronavirus. In other words, the airlines will have the greatest difficulty in receiving - and paying for - the planes they have ordered. Faced with the "unprecedented impact" of this pandemic, Airbus therefore decided, inevitably, to adapt its production on the assembly lines.
In a statement released Wednesday evening, the aircraft manufacturer announced its decision to reduce its rates by about a third. "We are adapting our production to the new situation [of our customers] and are working on operational and financial measures to face this reality", says Guillaume Faury, the boss of Airbus.
The manufacturer has already had to temporarily suspend production on its chains in Tianjin (China) then Toulouse, those of Bremen (Germany) and Mobile (United States) are currently stopped.
Concretely, Airbus plans to produce only 40 aircraft of the 320 family, its bestseller, per month, against 60 so far. The rate for long-haul A330s would drop to two per month. The number of A350s produced in the Pink City would drop to six monthly planes, whereas the forecast was 9 to 10.
Negotiations with unions
Airbus ensures "to work in coordination with the social partners to define the most appropriate social measures in order to adapt to this new and evolving situation". The group has already decided at the start of the crisis to cancel the payment of 2019 dividends to its shareholders.
However, the year had started well for the manufacturer, with 290 net orders recorded and 122 aircraft delivered. However, 60 of the devices produced could not be delivered and 66 cancellations of orders were notified, including 44 for the month of March alone.
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From now on, the priority of Airbus is, according to Guillaume Faury, "to protect [its] employees and to support the fight against the virus".
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