Airbus: voluntary departures will be insufficient, CEO announces to employees

It is "unlikely that voluntary departures will be enough" to achieve 15,000 job cuts, including 5,000 in France, in order to adapt Airbus to the crisis in the aeronautics sector, estimated its executive director Guillaume Faury.

"The resumption of air traffic during the summer did not live up to the expectations of the aeronautical sector. We must therefore prepare for a crisis that is probably deeper and longer than previous scenarios suggested," warns the boss of the aircraft manufacturer in a letter to employees unveiled Monday by

.

"The management team is working in consultation with the social partners on the terms of our adaptation plan," he wrote.

Unions want "zero dry layoffs"

A final round of discussions is to be held on September 22 and 23.

"But I want to be transparent with you here: it seems unlikely to me that voluntary departures will be enough", he warns, while saying he wants to "minimize as much as possible the human impact of this adaptation".

Since the announcement of the restructuring plan at the end of June, Airbus has always indicated that it did not rule out forced departures while saying "do everything to prevent them".

The union red line in France as in Germany, the main countries where the aircraft manufacturer operates, is "zero dry layoffs".

1,000 jobs saved by the long-term partial activity scheme?

The aircraft manufacturer has reduced its production rates for commercial aircraft by nearly 40% to cope with the situation resulting from the air transport crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Airbus is counting on early retirements, voluntary departures but also on the conclusion with the unions of wage moderation agreements to limit layoffs.

Of the 5,000 jobs to be cut in France, Guillaume Faury hopes to preserve “up to 1,000 jobs” in France thanks to the long-term partial activity device (APLD) and 500 others thanks to aid to “develop R&D projects”.