Airbus confirms 10,000 job cuts
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Airbus confirms 10,000 job cuts*
Troubled planemaker Airbus has announced it is to cut 10,000 jobs across
Europe over the next four years.
France will be worst hit with 4,300 job losses. Germany will see 3,700
jobs go while the UK and Spain will see 1,600 and 400 jobs cut respectively.
Airbus said it would not force any compulsory redundancies but unions
have pledged to fight the cuts.
Airbus boss Louis Gallois said the firm was "facing huge challenges" and
"was not efficient enough".
Factory options
Mr Gallois said the prolonged weakness of the US dollar had made the
restructuring necessary, while the production delays to the flagship
A380 superjumbo project had provided the "trigger" for the cutbacks.
See map of Airbus plants in Europe
Half of the 10,000 cuts will come from temporary staff and
sub-contractors not having their contracts renewed.
We totally oppose the closure of any site and we won't accept any
firings-Peter Scherrer-European Metalworkers Federation
German workers' anger
Mr Gallois said the job cuts would be "fairly shared" between Airbus's
four national partners.
Airbus is reviewing the future of three of its plants, at Laupheim,
Saint-Nazaire and Varel, with options including their sale to suppliers
or management.
It is also seeking investment partners for sites at Filton in the UK,
Meaulte in France and Nordenham in Germany.
Airbus said the changes would reduce the time it took to develop new
planes from seven-and-a-half years to six years, improve customer
service and aircraft reliability.
Union response
Union officials, who were informed of the proposals earlier on
Wednesday, expressed anger at the scale of the cuts.
"We totally oppose the closure of any site and we won't accept any
firings," said European Metalworkers Federation head Peter Scherrer.
French workers earlier downed tools in protest at the firm's plans to
review the future of two of its sites.
Airbus factory in Saint-Nazaire, France
Airbus says the proposed changes will speed up production
EADS, Airbus' Franco-German parent, approved the controversial plan on
Monday.
Disagreement between Germany and France, both home to key Airbus
factories, has delayed progress on the restructuring.
France - home to the firm's Toulouse headquarters - will be worst
affected by the cuts, both at individual factories and in central
management and administrative functions.
But, at the same time, some work will be transferred from Hamburg to
Toulouse.
Political reaction
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she regretted the job losses but
said the proposals ensured "a balanced distribution of risks and
opportunities" across different sites.
In France, presidential candidate Segolene Royal said she would seek to
freeze the job cuts if elected, but rival Nicolas Sarkozy said
politicians should stay out of the company's affairs.
In Britain, more than 10% of jobs at the firm's factories in Filton,
Bristol, and Broughton, North Wales are set to go.
But it is understood the Filton plant has won extra work on part of the
wing for the new Airbus A350, which uses hi-tech composite materials.
The new contracts would help Airbus in the UK maintain its position as a
specialist in the design and manufacture of aircraft wings.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said this would add "valuable new
capability" to the country's aerospace industry.
Politicians from Germany, France, the UK and Spain have been lobbying
Airbus bosses furiously in recent weeks in an effort to protect jobs in
their countries.
Airbus said its current financial situation was "unsustainable".
Production problems with the giant A380 have pushed back deliveries of
the plane by two years and cost Airbus about 5bn euros (£3.4bn; $6.6bn).