During the demonstration of the employees of Akka Technologies, the aeronautical subcontracting engineering company, this Thursday in Blagnac.

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B. Colin / 20 Minutes

  • Bruno Le Maire is in Toulouse this Friday to talk about the aeronautics sector, strongly affected by the health crisis.

  • This Thursday, Akka Technologies employees, mobilized against a job protection plan, demonstrated to ask for support from the public authorities.

  • It is also this Thursday that the management of Akka technologies announced that it had revised downwards the number of positions affected by the PSE, from 900 to 650.

This Friday, Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, is in Toulouse to meet with the players in the aeronautical sector, hard hit by the coronavirus crisis.

And the issue of subcontracting companies will not fail to be addressed.

On the eve of his arrival, Akka Technologies employees mobilized in Blagnac to denounce a restructuring plan which had until then concerned 900 job cuts, including 800 in the Toulouse region.

Reduced layoffs

But during the day, the management of the engineering group, contacted by

20 Minutes

, indicated that this figure was revised downwards.

“From 900 positions concerned we go to 650. These 250 employees will be oriented either towards training or towards other missions.

We are still negotiating with the trade unions, ”says one of her spokespersons, recalling that the sector's overall activity has fallen by 50% over the past year.

“We, our goal is to have zero forced starts.

We identify requests for voluntary departures from some employees, but who are not necessarily those covered by the Employment Protection Plan (PSE).

One way would be for management to extend voluntary departures to all employees of the group, ”says Stéphane Lepine, CFDT-Akka national coordinator.

The latter would also like the company to use a real device for long-term partial activity, like the one deployed at Altran which has "managed to save 2,000 employees".

But like his colleagues, he feels “sacrificed” and expects strong measures from the government and public authorities to limit the damage.

"The state must stop public subsidies, put pressure on the company, public aid cannot finance the destruction of our own jobs," said Franck Laborderie, CGT delegate of the company. .

Pressure from local elected officials

But Akka like Airbus are the tip of the iceberg.

Many small sub-contractors in the sector go under the radar screens and cut jobs, without being able to have access to the famous 15 billion stimulus plan.

“There are plenty of small structures where management tells one of its employees overnight that he must leave.

They dismiss abruptly, without us knowing, and without justification since the Macron orders, ”continues Robert Amade, CGT delegate at Capgemini.

However, the recovery will appear on the horizon in a few months according to him.

“The Airbus order book has not collapsed, there are still more than 7,000 planes to be produced, at the end of 2021 deliveries will be at the same level as at the end of 2019. And we must maintain jobs to put ourselves in a situation of set off again ”, assures the one who also works within the Aeronautical CGT Coordination.

An opinion shared by local elected officials, who were keen to provide their support, whether those in the region or the department.

They take a dim view of losing skills.

“The reconstitution of the expertise and know-how held today by this company will take time and could be subject to relocation.

I call on the leaders of Akka to review their position and to initiate negotiations with the trade unions to find a solution aimed at preserving the excellence of this company ”, pleads the mayor of Blagnac and vice-president of Toulouse Métropole, Joseph Because the.

And to recall that to pass the first wave, "Akka has benefited from public aid which will have to be returned if the decision to cut jobs is upheld".

This much-hoped-for recovery, slight signals let us foresee it.

Airbus thus announced on Thursday the increase in its production rates for its A320 family aircraft.

From 40 planes per month today, it will increase to 43 in the third quarter and 45 in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Meanwhile, on the side of Akka Technologies employees, it's waiting.

“The atmosphere is very tense, the announcement was made in a brutal and unilateral manner.

We tell ourselves that even if we are on a mission, we are not immune.

It's very anxiety-provoking ”, testifies a young employee who does not see himself reconverting in the automobile and the railroad, his childhood dream having always been that of planes.

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  • Coronavirus

  • Bruno the Mayor

  • Airbus

  • Plane

  • Economy

  • Toulouse

  • Aeronautics