(Commonwealth_UK) As part of a global downsizing strategy, Airbus has announced a significant reduction in its workforce, axing 477 jobs in the United Kingdom. The move comes as the company looks to scale back its space business and trim costs in response to financial pressures. Globally, Airbus plans to cut more than 2,000 positions, amounting to roughly 5% of its total workforce, by mid-2026. Despite the scale of the cuts, the company has emphasized that compulsory job losses will not be a part of the process, and almost all affected roles are not tied to specific projects or ongoing programs.
This decision follows a period of rising sales but falling profits for Airbus, which has been grappling with supply chain issues. In July, the company acknowledged its difficulties in meeting the high demand for its products, citing “bottlenecks” in its supply chain. As a result, Airbus admitted to struggling to fulfill its orders on time, which hurt profitability. While the company’s sales rose 7% to £44.5 billion in its most recent results, the profit saw a sharp decline of 22%, dropping to £1.8 billion for the nine months ending on 30th October. The company’s narrow profit margins mean that even modest increases in costs can have a disproportionate impact on its bottom line.
In light of these challenges, Airbus stated that it is focusing on reducing its “fixed cost base” to improve financial efficiency. The company indicated that it will work closely with unions and other social partners to minimize the impact of the job cuts on employees, utilizing all available social measures to provide support.
The majority of the job losses will come from Airbus’ space division, which will see 1,128 roles eliminated. Additionally, the company’s headquarters will lose 618 positions, while the air power department will experience a reduction of 250 jobs. Cutting 47 roles will also impact the connected intelligence department. The geographic spread of these job cuts shows that Western Europe will bear the brunt of the reductions. The reductions will result in the loss of 689 jobs in Germany and the elimination of 540 positions in France. The United Kingdom will face the loss of 477 roles, and Spain will see 303 job cuts. The rest of the world will only face a total of 34 job reductions.
This is not the first time in recent years that Airbus has had to implement widespread job cuts. Back in 2020, the company announced a global reduction of 15,000 positions, with 1,700 of those being in the UK. At that time, the pandemic had brought the global aviation industry to a standstill, severely affecting the profits of both aircraft manufacturers and airlines. The Unite union, which represents many Airbus employees, was critical of that decision, describing it as “another act of industrial vandalism” against the UK aerospace sector.
As Airbus continues to navigate its financial challenges, these latest job cuts reflect the company’s ongoing efforts to adapt to a volatile market environment and maintain its competitiveness in the aerospace industry. However, the human cost of these measures will undoubtedly have a significant impact on workers and the broader aerospace community, particularly in regions where job losses are concentrated.
