A sector in danger? Last March, Thales, a company owned by the State with a 26% stake, announced the elimination of 1,124 positions by 2025, including a thousand in France (distributed across the Toulouse and Cannes sites), i.e. 715 positions for Toulouse.
A consequence with serious consequences, for a company which to date understands 4,800 employees in France, including 2,800 in Toulouse.
For its part, Airbus has also just announced the possible removal of 2,500 positions by mid-2026 in its Defense and Space branch, which employs 35,000 people, including 6,600 in France et 5,100 in Toulouseexcluding subcontractors and other direct employment.
In both cases, companies justify their choice with a falling demand for space activities. Yet, the workload plans presented to staff representatives show a level of activity occupying all the current workforce.
Questioned by our colleagues from MondeThales management affirmed that “people affected by the elimination of positions will be redeployed within the group”through a active employment management system.
In practice, it is an internal tool allowing the company to adapt to market needs and in principle based on volunteering. The risk, increase the workload of those who remain et cause the space sector to lose skills.
For unions, uncertainty about the future of employees is a factor of increase in psychosocial risks in businesses. An argument taken up by several left-wing parliamentarians from Haute-Garonne who call for a state commitment.
It is the role of the State, as executive power and shareholder of Thales and Airbus, to ask the management of these companies that the plans for job cuts be stopped,” write the elected officials in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister.
And added: “It is also up to the State to question the rumor of the sale of several hundred thousand euros of shares par Michael Schoelhormpresident of Airbus Defense and Space, just before the announcement of the company's losses and provisions at the beginning of the summer.
“The sovereignty of France is fully in danger”
After the announcement of a strategic reorientation and an abandonment of space-related activities, “France risks a massive loss of competence in the space sector“alert elected officials. A decision damaging to industrial know-how.
The sovereignty of France is in full danger even though global growth forecasts are exponential for the space market,” insist the deputies and senators of Haute-Garonne.
While globally, 72% of the space industry's turnover is linked to institutional markets (defense, weather and science), it amounts to only 49% in France. In fact, our industry must face the paradigm shifts what the sector knows.
Airbus Defense and Space and Thales are also well positioned in the market for geostationary satellites, that of telecommunications constellations and the development of reusable launchers,” indicate the parliamentarians.
In fact, they are the alone in the world to offer reconfigurable telecommunications platforms and their subsidiaries, such as MaiaSpace, develop reusable launchersOneweb, for satellites designed by a subsidiary of Airbus.
Thus, “the exponential growth of private operators, often supported by States engaged in intense competition to dominate the sector, must be subject to regulation and public management”, argue the elected officials.
Faced with global competition and in order to strengthen the sovereignty of France and Europe, they call for the establishment of a “clear and lasting” national roadmap for the space sector.
Articulating civil and military priorities as well as commitments in terms of programs and financing, “this strategy must be supported by adequate funding to remain competitive with other global players”.
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