Crucial week for the military and space branch of Airbus. It is Wednesday that we should know the details and distribution of the 2,500 job cuts announced a few weeks ago.
After the shock of the announcement of an austerity cure, revealed in mid-October by BFM Business, Airbus Defense & Space employees will be fixed on Wednesday. Management must communicate the breakdown by activity and country of the 2,500 job cuts out of a total workforce of 35,000 people. A good expert in the sector explains to us that Airbus could cut between 1,000 and 1,300 jobs in France.
Unsurprisingly, it is space activities that will pay the heaviest price. In less than a year, the branch has spent 1.5 billion euros in provisions. The main sites affected are those of Toulouse and Élancourt, in Yvelines, which account for three quarters of space activity. However, no redundancies are planned.
Fewer people for as many orders
In addition to these job cuts, the entire organization will be rethought. The boss of Airbus Space, Alain Fauré, had promised an “aggressive” transformation plan. In recent years, the internal functioning of Airbus has become significantly more complex, to the point of becoming, as we explain internally, a “large administration” which must now be simplified.
Another avenue for savings: R&D. According to our information, the self-financed research and development budget should be reduced by around 15%.
Will these measures be enough to get Airbus' space branch out of the rut? Some people wonder. The unions already fear an additional workload for the employees who will remain. However, workload plans and order books are full.
“We should already stop selling satellites below the price of the competition,” we are ruminating internally.
Others believe the company lacks a clear overall vision. “We don’t really know where we’re going,” comments an employee. Serious concerns also about talent. The announcement of the transformation plan had the effect of an electric shock, in particular for the youngest employees, who are jumping ship. “Many are updating their CVs, the atmosphere is very gloomy,” we confide internally.
What future for Airbus Space?
So what could be the future of Airbus Space? Most specialists in the sector agree on the technological excellence of the group, at the forefront in many areas. Except, it's true, in constellations of small satellites where a lot of work remains to be done. According to an analyst, the future involves a merger with Thales' space activities.
Discussions on this subject have been underway for several months. Thales Alenia Space has, for its part, already made 1,000 job cuts, now it is Airbus' turn. These different successive plans could make it possible to reduce the social impact during a future merger.
Jean-Baptiste Huet Journalist BFM Business
