Spanish Unions Call For Demonstrations As Airbus Fires More Than 2 300 Employees

On Wednesday morning, European a​irliner manufacturer​ Airbus informed trade unionists about a proposed cut of 2,362 jobs in Europe. This Thursday, Spanish Unions in Spain have rejected the plan and call for demonstrations.

Airbus managers announced on Wednesday a proposed cut by 2,362 jobs in Europe. It is thought to result in the cut of 332 direct jobs (mostly workshop operators) and 298 indirect jobs (mostly engineers, economists and service personnel) in its Spanish Defence and Space division.
The job losses in the UK would be 357.

The reason is said to be​ “a flat space market and postponed contracts on the defence side”​. Airbus Space and Defense have experienced recurring technical issues regarding their military transport aircraft, A400M, that have caused Germany to refuse to accept deliveries from Airbus.

This Thursday, t​he five unions with representation in Airbus, CCOO, UGT, CGT, SIPA and ATP, have rejected the proposal,​ and have called for demonstrations.

“We reject this adjustment because there are no reasons to justify it and the management has not even explained who is going to do the work that is now done by the workers who they plan to dismiss,” said the representative of UGT Juan Antonio Vázquez.

Labour representatives will be meeting with Airbus for a negotiating meeting on March 3, after which the unions intend to hold informational assemblies at the factories to approve a schedule of mobilizations, according to Vázquez​.