Jobs fears trigger Airbus protest

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/6324411.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Airbus workers are holding rallies across Europe in protest over feared job cuts in the wake of delays to the A380 superjumbo.

Thousands of employees gathered at four sites in Germany while 100 French staff protested in Toulouse, home of the aircraft business.

Unions claim a company restructuring plan could see up to 10,000 jobs axed.

Deliveries of the A380 plane are two years late and Airbus parent firm EADS is seeking economies in the project.

Extensive repercussions

Peter Scherrer, general secretary of the European Metalworkers Federation, called on EADS to take responsibility for both Airbus employees and thousands more workers involved in sub-contracting work for the planemaker.

He claimed that Friday's protests could herald a wave of further protests across Europe. Airbus also manufactures major components in Spain and the UK.

Louis Gallois says Airbus must contain costs

In France, the CGT union said it would not accept any redundancies or factory closures.

Airbus has said that all talk of drastic cutbacks was speculative.

The company has pledged to deliver the first A380 to its launch customer, Singapore Airlines, in October.

But the whole order book has been pushed behind schedule by persistent problems with the complex electrical wiring system in the giant A380.

The electrical installation relates to inflight entertainment systems. Airbus has allowed each customer to specify internal arrangements by choosing from a large menu of options.

The extensive optional extras helped win orders from customers like Thai Airways, Virgin and Qantas. But by catering for multiple variations Airbus has created a huge burden for its design engineers.

Transatlantic dogfight

Delays to the A380 have cost Airbus more than $6bn (£3.3bn).

The company is also confronting headaches with its proposed A350 medium-sized jet.

Potential customers of the A350 requested a redesign of the aircraft and Airbus boss Louis Gallois has stated that he can only proceed with the $13bn project if a $2bn cost-cutting plan is put in place.

Last year Airbus fell behind arch-rival Boeing for the first time since 2000 in terms of new orders, securingw 824 orders compared to its US competitor's 1,050.

Airbus employs 7,000 staff at its UK wing assembly plant.

This site has been the subject of recent speculation over a potential shift in wing construction to cheaper locations outside of the UK.