Airbus is reportedly preparing a restructuring plan that would cut thousands of jobs, in order to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 crisis.
Airbus President and CEO Guillaume Faury reportedly told its executives on May 14, 2020, that a restructuring plan would be presented next month. It could involve the loss of 10,000 jobs, according to the sources of the British daily the Telegraph.
The information was confirmed by another source of the French media La Depeche, which added that the plan could be “heavier than that of Power 8” ‒ a previous restructuring in 2007. Due to the problems encountered by the A380 program, the previous plan had led to the layoff of 5,000 people. This time, the source claims the reduction could reach 10% of the workforce, meaning that more than 13,500 jobs could be impacted.
The number was not officially confirmed by the manufacturer, yet it said it would take “all necessary measures to ensure the future of Airbus”.
In a letter sent on April 24, 2020, Faury warned that Airbus was “losing money at an unprecedented speed”. Without immediate action to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the survival of the manufacturer was at stake.
Airbus is expected to extend partial unemployment, which currently concerns only 3,000 of the 48,000 employees of the Commercial Aviation division in France. The number could increase to 30% (14,400 employees) until the end of 2020. As per a company agreement, partial unemployment at Airbus entitles 92% salary compensation.
On April 29, 2020, Airbus reported a net loss of $521 million for the first quarter of 2020, with a 22% drop in revenue of the Commercial Aircraft division. The manufacturer has cut its production output by a third and is, reportedly, considering to decrease it further. The European manufacturer employs 135,000 workers worldwide.