The A380 is one of the jets whose production will be scaled back by Airbus. (Photo courtesy of Airbus)
Airbus has reworked its production plan for A380s and A400Ms. The new plan, which was presented to the European Works Council today, involves the production of six A380s and eight A400Ms per year starting in 2020. Airbus said that it is now entering into a formal process with staff representatives at European and national levels to analyze potential implications for the company’s workforce and to start joint mitigation efforts.
At this stage, Airbus estimates the maximum impact of these measures will affect up to 3,700 positions at sites across the company’s home countries of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain.
The adjustment of the A380 production rate follows a recent order which provides visibility to the program for the years to come. Airbus left the door open to expand its production beyond the baseline six A380s per year in the future.
On the A400M program, production will be adjusted to eight units per year as of 2020, following the production of 15 A400M in 2018 and eleven units in 2019. This adjustment is based on discussions with the A400M launch customer nations. Airbus said it will pursue export opportunities beyond this level.