The aircraft manufacturer Airbus wants to deliver 40 percent fewer aircraft in the next two years due to the slump in demand – previously there was talk of 30 percent. Thousands of jobs could be lost.
The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus will cut its production and deliveries by 40 percent and cut thousands of jobs in response to the aviation crisis caused by the corona pandemic for two years. “We cannot detach ourselves from the development at the airlines,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury of “Welt”.
All models will continue to be built
While the group previously spoke of a reduction of around 30 percent, 40 percent is now mentioned because the difference to the previously planned expansion of production will increase in 2020/21. However, all models should continue to be built, albeit “at a slower pace,” said Faury.
Many finished aircraft are currently parked because they are not accepted by the airlines. It will take until the end of 2021 before production and deliveries are in line again, the Airbus boss told the paper.
Faury did not provide details of the restructuring, but indicated that a significant reduction in jobs was necessary. “It’s a brutal fact, but we have to do it. It’s about adjusting to the massive decline in production. It’s about securing our future,” he said.
Every location is looking for ways to cut costs. “We turn every stone over.” Airbus employs tens of thousands of people in Germany and has numerous locations, for example in Hamburg-Finkenwerder.
After discussions with the employee side, Faury wants to announce the exact scope of the job cuts by the end of July. It is speculated that up to 15,000 jobs in the civil aircraft division with 90,000 employees will be affected.
Airbus had lost almost half a billion euros in the first quarter due to the pandemic. The minus in the first three months of the year amounted to 481 million euros. In the same quarter of the previous year, the bottom line was a profit of 40 million euros.
