Airbus is 50 years old today: in the midst of a crisis, state of play and prospects

Airbus Industrie is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The aircraft manufacturer was born on December 18, 1970, the realization of the Franco-German agreement signed at the Paris Air Show.

Half a century later, Airbus is very shaken by the health crisis, strongly impacted by the drastic drop in air traffic.

Unions and management, however, say they see the end of the tunnel.

Negotiating an agreement with the unions by February could allow them to avoid any layoffs and to record only voluntary departures, mostly pre-retirement.

Of the 4,200 positions initially targeted, more than 2,000 should be saved, largely thanks to the partial long-term activity but also thanks to the Council for Civil Aeronautical Research, which has benefited from one and a half billion euros thanks to the recovery plan.

At Airbus, that will mean nearly 600 jobs guaranteed to work on the aircraft of the future.

The hydrogen plane announced for 2035

Because the future of Airbus will inevitably be green, in particular with the hydrogen plane announced for 2035. Several concepts are imagined to launch it, such as a short-haul of 100 places which could land in small airports.

The choice of the appropriate technology will be made in 2025. Airbus is also preparing the jobs of tomorrow, particularly around hydrogen.

In this regard, the aircraft manufacturer is trying to motivate engineering schools to offer new training.

This is not obvious, says one at Airbus.

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Airbus has also invested this year by buying 80% of a German company specializing in fuel cells.

2020 will also have been the year of the first automatic flight of the CityAirbus, this flying taxi that can take four people for a 15-minute trip at 120km / h.

The French aircraft manufacturer is finally focusing on defense.

The fighter plane of the future is being prepared and contracts at European level will be signed in 2021.