Airbus looks to cut UK jobs as orders dry up
Airbus is considering a voluntary redundancy scheme for as many as 500 UK workers as the planemaker seeks to cut costs in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The European manufacturer’s job cuts in the UK are expected to fall mainly on the vast factory in Broughton, north Wales, which produces wings for commercial planes such as the A320 and A350.
When compulsory redundancies are included, it is likely that UK job losses will be multiple times higher.
One option under consideration was to offer voluntary redundancy to 500 workers, focusing on those nearer to retirement, a person with knowledge of discussions said. However, another source cautioned that no final decision had been made and it was only one of a number of options as the manufacturer prepared for years of lower demand.
Airbus said in April it would cut the number of planes it built by a third. Airlines around the world have cancelled or delayed orders for new aircraft as their fleets remained grounded.
The production cuts have led to the expectation of thousands of job cuts across Airbus’s global operations.
Related: Airlines may not recover from Covid-19 crisis for five years, says Airbus
Boeing, Airbus’s US rival, has said it will cut a tenth of its global workforce of 160,000, with 12,000 cuts already decided. Bombardier, which makes business jets, said on Friday it would cut 2,500 jobs, mainly in Canada. Rolls-Royce, the British jet engine manufacturer, has plans to cut 9,000 jobs, with a voluntary redundancy scheme underway.
Guillaume Faury, Airbus’s chief executive, has said it could take five years for commercial aviation demand to recover to pre-pandemic levels.
Airbus has already made steep cuts to the numbers of contractors at Broughton. About 500 workers employed by the Guidant staffing agency have been told they will not return to work.
Airbus employed 14,000 workers in the UK before the crisis, including 6,000 at Broughton. Worldwide the company has 135,000 employees, with bases in France, Spain and Germany, where talks with worker representatives are reportedly underway.
The company has made extensive use of the UK’s government’s job retention scheme. About 3,000 workers were furloughed at Broughton, with Airbus topping up their pay to between 85% and 90% of full salary.
Workers at Filton, north of Bristol, are thought to be less exposed because of their role in designing wings and fuel systems, although some high-profile development programmes have already been cancelled, including the EFan-X electric plane project, said to be a key part of efforts to reduce aviation emissions.
Other options being considered to preserve Airbus jobs include bringing back work from suppliers. However, the scope for this is thought to be limited, given constraints on machinery and workers with the necessary skills.
An Airbus spokesman said the company did not comment on speculation related to internal meetings or decisions.
The spokesman said: “As the company has shared repeatedly over the last weeks, we are currently studying potential additional measures to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, in full cooperation with our social partners. No final decision has been made about next steps and any further measures will be discussed first with our social partners.”
