Unite have revealed that Airbus are set to make up to 500 agency workers redundant, after previously furloughing 3,200 of their workers.
As many as 500 agency workers at Airbus’ Broughton site are to be made redundant, according to Unite.
The news comes after Airbus said it was furloughing approximately 3,200 workers at its main wing-making site, with its chief executive reportedly telling staff the firm is “bleeding cash” due to dropped demand because of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to reports, Guillaume Faury said: “We’re bleeding cash at an unprecedented speed, which may threaten the very existence of our company.”
Reacting to the news of further redundancies, Unite assistant general secretary criticised Airbus and other firms for abusing the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, and said that the union had written directly to the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to request he step in to ensure the scheme is used to protect jobs.
Mr Beckett said:
The fundamental principle of this scheme is to save jobs by payments to help companies keep workers employed, it is not intended to pay companies to jettison jobs.
The principle of the scheme is clearly identified by the name given to it by the Government: The Job Retention Scheme.
There are clearly difficulties and challenges ahead for the industry but employers need to hold their nerve and work with Unite to press Government for any needed scheme changes or sector aid packages that are needed to keep workers in employment.
This is not a crisis made by workers and must not become a crisis paid for by workers losing their jobs.
But fundamentally it cannot be right that the scheme is used to get rid of workers who remain entitled to payments.
We have today written to the Chancellor demanding that he step in to ensure that the scheme is used properly to save workers jobs.
Airbus’ decision comes after many airlines have grounded their fleets following the Government’s advice against all non-essential international travel.
This has led the planemaker to already cut production rates by a third, with the production of A320 jets reducing from a rate of 60 to 40 per month, the A330 rate dropping from six to two per month and the A350 rate dropping from 10 to six per month.
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