The government presented on Tuesday its plan to revive the aeronautical sector, which includes 10 billion euros of investment to revive a sector hard hit by the coronavirus crisis. But beyond the aircraft manufacturers, the subcontractors are impatient to know how they can be helped after seeing a drastic decline in their activity. Because if the planes are nailed to the ground, orders will not be honored.
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Aeronautics represents for example 50% of the activity of the company Celso, based in Bressols, in Tarn-et-Garonne. This world leader in the manufacture of cockpit cushions has occupied a completely stationary market in recent weeks.
An extension "put under the elbow"
Before containment, demand had never been so strong: "We were in phases where we had made investments to follow the rates of increase, at the request of aircraft manufacturers and the market," explains the general manager of the company, Agnès Timbre-Saunière. "I was in the process of pressing the launch of an extension to double the surface of the company. For the moment, I am putting it 'under the elbow' while waiting for better days."
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The director of the Celso company awaits the announcement of additional deadlines for the payment of social charges and taxes. The company no longer uses temporary work for the moment, while all of its employees have returned to work a week ago. They are nevertheless part-time, for lack of orders: "I made the choice to have everyone rework, so that we find this working atmosphere. We feel the engine of the factory," says Agnès Timbre-Saunière . "But it costs me 15% of everyone's salary. This is where I expect state support."
The Celso general manager also hopes that the support plan will allow the "principals", who are the major groups in the sector, to quickly place orders. Otherwise, without activity before 2021, it will be impossible to preserve employment, she warns.