Airbus’s Spanish Workers Stage Demonstrations Against Job Cuts

(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE’s plan to cut jobs in Spain sparked demonstrations by workers in four cities Thursday.

Members of the CCOO and UGT-FICA labor groups are marching on town halls as they seek government intervention to block the elimination of 1,600 posts, according to a union statement.

Airbus plans to eliminate 11% of its global payroll in the steepest cuts since it became a single company two decades ago. Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury has said jetliner output will be 40% lower than planned for two years as the coronavirus crisis stunts demand for air travel.

Protests are being staged in Getafe on the outskirts of Madrid, where Airbus makes jetliner tail components, Cadiz, near a plant that manufactures composite structures, Albacete, a focus for helicopter production, and Seville, the main base for the group’s military-transport business.

Airbus declined to comment on the demonstrations. The Spanish cuts comprise 889 posts at its commercial aircraft business and 722 at the defense and space division, which employs the bulk of the company’s 12,300 staff in the country.

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