REPORTAGE
At the call of the three main Airbus trade union organizations, between 5,000 and 8,000 employees gathered to demonstrate this Wednesday at the Airbus site in Blagnac, near Toulouse. Faced with the coronavirus crisis, the aircraft manufacturer announced that it would cut 5,000 jobs in France, including 3,500 just for the "Pink City". For employees, this plan constitutes a veritable "slap", as one employee declared to Europe 1.
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"We still haven't recovered"
Aymeric, a technical executive in flight testing, still accuses the blow, following the manufacturer's announcements that fell at the end of June. "A few months ago we were talking about going up the pace. There, these announcements are so violent that we still have not recovered. We have not yet all realized what is happening to us" , says the employee, who wonders how he will be able to get out if the chopper ever falls.
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"I sleep less well than usual, because when we hear the numbers, we wonder if we will still be there in a few months. I have a family, I have my wife who is unemployed. My job is important for my family and it is the case for all my colleagues ", relates the employee. Same story for Erwan, just hired in September. "Apart from Airbus, in aeronautics there is not much on the job market. We are all worried," laments the young graduate.
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The start of four months of negotiations
So far, social plans at Airbus have always resulted in voluntary departures or early retirements. Françoise Vallin, CFE-CGC delegate, fears in the current context that no one wants to leave the company.
"This is the problem. This phase of volunteering will certainly be reduced because management is unable to finance them," she adds. The unions are therefore asking for government support to finance these early departures and to guarantee that there will be no layoffs. Since Monday, meetings between unions and management have started, for four months of negotiations.