Airbus executive says aviation outlook worse than expected
04 October, 2020
The outlook for the aviation industry has deteriorated again because of rising coronavirus infections and renewed travel restrictions, Airbus chief operating officer Michael Schoellhorn was quoted as saying on Saturday.
With air travel at a fraction of normal levels because of restrictions and travellers' fears linked to the pandemic, airlines have slowed deliveries of new aircraft.
Airbus has said it needs to shed 15,000 posts worldwide.
In an interview with the Handelsblatt business daily, Schoellhorn said the problem in early autumn was worse than the company had expected in the summertime, adding that the planned 15,000 job cuts would be the minimum.
As some Airbus factories were already underutilized prior to the pandemic, labour unions now fear that the management could decide to turn off entire locations.
At least for Germany, Schoellhorn ruled out such a move.
"In conditions of substance, I really do not see any German locations at risk right now," he said.
Airbus leader Guillaume Faury said last month the planemaker would do its better to spend less without resorting to compulsory redundancies, nonetheless it could not guarantee they won't happen.
In a letter to staff in September, Faury warned that Airbus may need to perform compulsory layoffs after air travel failed to recover from the pandemic as quickly as anticipated.
Source: business