Airbus Workers Protest
March 1, 2007
Employees at the Airbus plants in the northern German towns of Varel and Nordenham stopped work for the second day while 1,200 workers in the southern town of Laupheim rallied against the planned sell-off of their factory.
"We have a big advantage. They need the parts we make but we don't need management," head of the works council in Varel, Jürgen Bruns, said in a fiery speech.
"Praised! Betrayed! Sold!" read the banners at the Laupheim rally, referring to the bitterness many workers felt after Airbus' sunny outlook just two years ago clouded over setbacks with its A380 superjumbo jet programme.
Airbus parent company EADS triggered the protests with the announcement Wednesday of its "Power8" rescue scheme to axe 10,000 jobs in Germany, France, Britain and Spain and trim its factory network.
On Thursday, Airbus also announced it had suspended development of the cargo version of its giant A380 superjumbo jet, but said it would continue looking for clients for the freight plane.
Three clients had placed orders for the Airbus cargo superjumbo plane by November, but since then one has been scrapped and two others were also poised to be cancelled.
"We are not stopping the program," said an Airbus spokesman. "We are suspending development, but we will continue canvassing for business."
Union anger
Germany's powerful IG Metall trade union for the engineering and metal-working industries vowed to fight the sale of Airbus plants and protect German jobs with efforts to boost productivity and create more flexible work contracts.
The head of the union's northern chapter, Jutta Blankau, announced a European-wide protest movement against the restructuring plan.
"We hope to mobilize employees across Europe in the next 14 days," Blankau said. "We have spoken with trade unions in the other countries" where Airbus has plants."
"We oppose any sell-off or closure of a plant. Our slogan is if one is affected, all are affected," she said.
The head of the works council for the seven Airbus plants in Germany, Rüdiger Lütjens, said the decision to slash jobs and trim the network of plants in Europe made little sense.
"Our orders list is full, which shows how popular our products are. We do not understand why plants need to be sold," he said.
Under the restructuring plans, two of the seven German sites -- Laupheim and Varel -- are to be sold, while an industrial partner will be sought for Nordenham.
Political support
The northern state of Lower Saxony threw its weight behind the employees. Although he welcomed the plans in principle Wednesday, state premier Christian Wulff promised Thursday to fight job cuts in his state.
"We reject Airbus' plans to abandon its plants," he said.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday that Germany could have been hit harder if it were not for her government's efforts, in comments echoed by local leaders Thursday.
Airbus plans to slash jobs across Europe in the next four years, with 4,300 cuts in France, 3,700 in Germany, 1,600 in Britain and 400 in Spain.
Originally, Germany had feared that up to 8,000 of its jobs could be on the line. Airbus's seven German sites currently employ a workforce of around 21,000.
A hot potato
The Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel said that Airbus had become a political hot potato, overriding the powers of its chief executive Louis Gallois.
"Airbus is becoming an issue in the French election campaign," it said in an editorial. "An economically effective overhaul is impossible under these circumstances."
The Munich-based newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, however, said it was wise for Airbus to gird itself for tougher times.
"It is good for the company to undergo a restructuring and cut costs now during an unprecedented boom in the aircraft manufacturing industry," it said.
"Only then will Airbus survive the inevitable downturn."
International balance
Parity in cutting jobs had been requested by French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a meeting between the heads of state last Friday.
Merkel said on Wednesday that the "principle of fair distribution" appeared to have been respected in the restructuring plan for European aircraft maker Airbus.
Germany's Economy Minister Michael Glos said the restructuring plan offered a "good basis" for the future of Airbus.
"We all agreed that this is about securing the long-term future of company and of a great European project," he told reporters. "From my point of view, today's decision was a good basis for this. I also think that the distribution of burdens looks balanced."
A turnaround in fortunes
The European planemaker is expected to report an operating loss for 2006, a sharp turnaround in its fortunes after years of bumper profits. It also faces pressure from a weakening dollar, which makes Airbus airliners more expensive in international markets.
"The plan will make Airbus better prepared to face the challenge of the US dollar weakness, increased competitive pressure, the financial burden related to the A380 delays, as well as to meet its other future investment needs," Airbus said in a statement.
Airbus is owned by EADS, which is controlled by French shareholders media group Lagardere and the French state, and German shareholder car maker DaimlerChrysler. The two sides own 22.5 percent each.