Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Airbus plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs in its defence and space business as part of a restructuring of its activities, which have suffered from rising costs and increased competition.
The company, the world’s largest commercial aircraft maker, said on Wednesday that it planned to implement the cuts — which represent about 7 per cent of the division’s workforce — by the middle of 2026. No compulsory redundancies are planned.
Mike Schoellhorn, chief executive of Airbus Defence and Space, said the division had been hit by a “fast-changing and very challenging business context with disrupted supply chains, rapid changes in warfare and increasing cost pressure due to budgetary constraints”.
While initial efforts to revamp the business last year had “started bearing fruit, particularly on operational performance and risk management”, Airbus was now taking further steps, said Schoellhorn.
A significant share of the cuts is expected to fall on Airbus’s space systems activities. The company has struggled to turn around the business, which has suffered from hefty one-off charges and heightened competition.
Airbus booked a €989mn charge against its space business in the second quarter after a review of long-term programmes. The charges related to an audit of costs and future revenues associated with space system programmes focused on navigation, communication and satellites, the company said at the time.
Europe’s leading satellite operators have also come under increasing pressure as demand for their geostationary satellites has fallen, hitting profits. Demand for cheaper, smaller satellites, on the other hand, has soared.
Airbus has already brought in new management to oversee the division. It told investors in July that it would “evaluate all strategic options such as potential restructuring, co-operation models, portfolio review and M&A options”.
The company’s defence business, meanwhile, has suffered from higher costs even as governments in Europe have increased spending in response to the war in Ukraine and rising tensions elsewhere. Airbus is part of the Eurofighter Typhoon industry consortium and builds the A400M military transport aircraft.