Airbus Labor Unions Take Hard Line
Management's Appeal Has Lower Impact After Dubai Aircraft Orders
Nov 23, 2007
Only days after the announcement of record aircraft sales at the Dubai Air Show, the full impact of those transactions is coming to light. The ostensibly successful coup over arch rival Boeing has emerged not to have been as fulfilling to Airbus as initially imagined by analysts. "The sliding trajectory of the U.S. dollar confirms the necessity to implement and to reinforce Power8 with additional measures," CEO of Airbus' parent company EADS, Louis Gallois, said in a statement accompanying the 3rd quarter 2007 results. "There is no way around additional efficiency measures to ensure…competitiveness."
The falling dollar has had a significant impact on the bottom line of Airbus. According to Der Spiegel, Airbus’ Tom Enders told a labor union in Hamburg Germany: “Even though Airbus has reported plenty of new orders it expects ‘enormous losses’ from foreign exchange effects.” Enders continued, "We are going to have to take another look at our industrial model. It is not sufficiently resistant as it is." When questioned in France about the possibility of additional job cuts Gallois said “Nothing is excluded.”
Labor leaders warned that any further job cuts would face fresh resistance. "It was presented in a dramatic fashion, but in the end there is nothing new," commented Daniel Friedrich, spokesman for the IG Metall trade union in northern Germany. The union continued, "we reiterated our viewpoint, which is that we must find solutions that allow Airbus to profit from the current boom in demand rather than throwing ourselves into all-out activism…." However, “…the first reaction is to demand from workers...That is what Power8 was about [and now this.]”
In an apparent showdown warning of things to follow, the Airbus Chief Executive warned that "radical measures" would have to be taken. “Nothing has moved since Power8, we have to keep the pressure on,” said Jean-Francois Knepper of France’s Force Ouvriere Union. “We are not being heard.”
Management is well aware of the problems they may face. From February 28 to March 5th 2007, Airbus workers walked off the job not only in France but also, Germany, England and Spain. “Our management claims to want to talk but accepts none of our attempts to try to find a compromise,” Knepper said. The German Union IG Metall demanded that EADS tone down its savings drive at Airbus given the flood of aircraft orders in Paris and Dubai. "The new orders are good for the company and underscore the competitiveness of Airbus. But they must also bring security for jobs and plants," regional union leader Jutta Blankau said.
Currently there are no plans for national or international strikes according to the European Metalworkers' Federation EMF. The realization that Airbus is in great distress is well known by her unions. "With the announcement of another billion euros in cuts, we have a right to be worried, and we are," said Gilbert Plo of the CFTC trade union.
Related Articles:
Southwest Airline: LUV in the Air
The World's Dangerous Airports
Russian Success Rooted in Labor
Corporate Profits versus Minimum Wage
Political Turmoil over Airbus Mess
 |
