France: Airbus announces job cuts

the Airbus group is losing money at unprecedented speed, writes Guillaume Faury, the executive chairman of Airbus. REUTERS / Regis Duvignau

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In Europe, the aerospace group Airbus is playing its survival. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, the European industrial flagship will have to cut more jobs than expected. The executive chairman of the company announces this in a letter sent to employees, 

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It is a letter that none of the 135,000 Airbus employees expected. The aircraft manufacturer had regained its place as world number one in January. The company is considering potentially larger job cuts than expected. The “defense and space” branch of the company had already announced in February a plan to cut jobs.

World air traffic will not return to its level before the coronavirus pandemic for two to three years, predicted David Calhoun, the boss of Boeing. And since the implementation of containment measures, the Airbus group has been losing money at an unprecedented speed, writes Guillaume Faury, the executive chairman of Airbus. Airlines are struggling and aircraft deliveries have stopped dead. 

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From the start of the crisis, Airbus decided to set up short-time working for its 3,000 employees in France. This system allows the company, with the help of the State, to pay an employee 84% of his net salary. This represents a certain reduction in remuneration for the person concerned, but on the other hand it avoids unemployment. 

Well, this effort could prove to be insufficient for Airbus, if we believe its executive president. "  We may have to plan for additional measures,  " wrote Guillaume Faury in his letter. The FO union, which is the majority in the company, has already warned against dry layoffs.

In a few days, the aircraft manufacturer should present its results for the first quarter of this year. Unsurprisingly, the numbers could turn out to be disappointing. Already Monday evening, on the Paris Stock Exchange, the Airbus share fell 3.36% a few minutes from the close, signing one of the biggest drops in the CAC 40.

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  • France
  • Transport
  • Coronavirus

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