Cross-border Strikes
March 16, 2007
Mass demonstrations took place in northern Germany, southern Spain and in France in a rare show of cross-border union activism against a program that management says is vital to rescuing Airbus.
"We have shown today that workers at the European level are speaking with a single voice," declared Peter Scherrer, head of the European Metalworking Federation, speaking in Paris outside the headquarters of Airbus parent company EADS.
In Hamburg in Germany, 42-year-old Johannes Budde, who has worked for Airbus for 18 years, said worker solidarity was the key to forcing management to scrap the overhaul, dubbed Power8.
"It's only in standing shoulder to shoulder that we will be able to demonstrate our strength to management," he said, noting in anger that Airbus wanted to slash jobs at a time when its books were healthy.
"Despite our success, they're cutting jobs. But this demonstration sends a good signal to management -- they have to understand that without us they can't work."
Organizers said 25,000 people turned out for demonstrations in Hamburg and elsewhere in Germany, 7,000 in Toulouse, where Airbus is headquartered, 4,000 at three other sites in France and 9,000 at seven Spanish locations.
Police estimated the gathering at 10,000 in Hamburg and 5,500 in Toulouse.
Airbus: cuts are needed
Airbus insists that its financial and production difficulties are "extremely serious" and that it can no longer delay making cost savings.
The cuts, together with the total or partial disposal of six sites, are intended to save 5.0 billion euros ($6.6 billion) by 2010 and pull the company out of a crisis caused by delays to its A380 superjumbo program, seen as critical to Airbus' bid to catch up with US rival Boeing.
The job losses will target Airbus production sites in France, Germany, Spain and Britain. Management has also blamed the strong euro, which makes its products less competitive on world markets and reduces the value of its dollar-based sales, on the manufacturer's financial woes.
EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, last week published results revealing a first-ever operating loss at its Airbus unit of 572 million euros ($752 million) in 2006 after a profit of 2.3 billion euros in 2005.
Franco-German tensions
Announcement of the restructuring on February 28 came amid tension between French and German interests, which dominate EADS, over where cuts should fall.
In the German state of Lower Saxony where Airbus has two sites, regional premier Christian Wulff voiced support Friday for the workers.
But in remarks pointing to underlying tensions between German and French interests over the plan, Hamburg senator Gunnar Uldall complained that as French politicians and unions had "turned Airbus into a national project, we have to do the same."
Daniel Friedrich, a spokesman for the powerful German union IG Metall, said support from the German federal government would be necessary to force Airbus bosses to rescind Power8.
He added that it was now up to Airbus management to unveil the finer points in the plan, after which "we will be able to propose better solutions, which will takes weeks or months."
Good news
Airbus on Thursday received a much needed boost to its business and credibility when two customers pledged new orders worth 23 billion euros ($30 billion).
Qatar Airways said it planned to buy 80 A350 jets for $17.2 billion (13 billion euros) at catalog prices, one of the biggest orders in the history of Airbus, and Russian airline Aeroflot said it would sign a deal for 22 more of the same aircraft.
The contracts would be a huge win for the mid-sized, long-haul A350 plane, which was withdrawn and relaunched by Airbus as the A350XWB last year because of poor feedback on the original version from potential customers.
EADS shares closed higher Friday, gaining 1.38 percent to reach 22.05 euros on the Paris exchange.