Airbus to furlough 3,000 French Staff as UK plants resume work
Airbus will furlough around 3,000 staff across three French sites just as employees at its U.K. wing plants prepare to return to work following extended Easter shutdowns tied to the coronavirus outbreak.
The staff at commercial aircraft sites in Toulouse, Nantes and Saint-Nazaire will be on leave from next Monday until mid-May following an agreement with unions, a spokesman said.
The measure will affect people whose workstations can't meet social-distancing requirements, and could be extended depending on how Airbus' production plans evolve following a decision to slash output by a third.
Airbus confirmed earlier Friday that employees in Broughton, Wales, and Filton, England, will resume work next Monday after a 3 1/2-week break. The European planemaker has implemented a series of pauses globally to deal with safety concerns and slumping demand as the virus spreads.
Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury told Bloomberg Television on Thursday that Airbus faces tough decisions ahead on permanent job cuts.
He said Airbus would seek to take advantage of national furlough programs first, including those in Germany and Britain, but may need to contemplate further steps depending on how the situation unfolds.
