Airbus SE said reduced production rates for two troubled aircraft programs will affect as many as 3,700 jobs across Europe as the planemaker seeks to cut costs and eke out dwindling backlogs.
The posts are spread across Airbus’s home countries of France, Germany, the U.K. and Spain, it said in a statement Wednesday. Output of the slow-selling A380 superjumbo will be pared to six planes a year from 2020, while the rate for the A400M military transport will be reduced to eight aircraft.
“The company is confident that it will be able to propose opportunities to most of the affected employees through programs which are ramping up,” Airbus said, adding that 12% of workers usually change roles each year, allowing the flexibility for redeployment across divisions and subsidiaries.
Airbus has presented the build-rate cuts to its European Works Council and will now begin a process of consultation with staff representatives on the implications for headcount and possible mitigation efforts. The company had said Monday that production and job cuts on the two ailing programs were imminent.
By Christopher Jasper
