As Labor Unions Gear Up For A Fight
Germany's economy
minister Michael Glos has pledged to fight what he views as
disproportionate job cuts for his country expected to come as part
of a restructuring plan set for unveiling by Airbus on February
20.
Glos fears Germany may bear the brunt of expected job cuts since
Airbus maintains its headquarters and core assembly sites in
France.
Glos told BBC news, "The Airbus is also a German product and not
just a French one - and we will keep an eye on that. We will go
into the negotiations self-confidently. We are, after all, the
largest customer for EADS on the military side."
Airbus' parent EADS is a pan-European company with ties to
governments in several countries. Its corporate structure is
designed to prevent any one country from having too much control,
but that ideal may be under fire as ownership levels between the
principals have changed recently.
Add to that the current financial crisis, caused in part by
delays with Airbus' A380 superjumbo jet, and EADS finds itself
under tremendous strain as all the players involved position
themselves to minimize exposure to the coming storm.
Glos' fears are based in part on what is seen as an imbalance
between French and German influence over EADS' operations.
Between the French government and French company Lagardere, France
enjoys nearly 30 percent of EADS.
Conversely, German companies hold only 22.5 percent, until
recently all held by DaimlerChrysler. As ANN reported,
DaimlerChrysler sold 7.5 percent of its stake to a consortium of
German banks and regional German governments. While DaimlerChrysler
retains its voting rites -- and thereby its influence -- as a
condition of the sale, some may view the move as a lack of
confidence in Airbus.
Meanwhile, the major unions representing many of Airbus' 57,000
employees have already made their presence felt. Press leaks
indicate Airbus plans to cut 10,000 jobs, and German workers
believe up to 8,000 may come from their ranks. Should that prove
true, they have threatened to slow production -- and backed
that threat with a walk-out on February 5 from four of Airbus'
seven German plants.
And in a new development, Tuesday unions from France and Germany
say they've joined forces to ensure any Airbus job cuts are
distributed fairly. There are also indications unions from Spain
and the UK also wish to join in a cooperative labor effort.
According to Forbes, France's Federation Force Ouvriere de la
Metallurgie and Germany's IG Metall unions issued a joint release
Monday urging their members to remain mobilized.
Whatever happens, it's clear Airbus must do something. Despite
near-record orders and deliveries in 2006 the company still
recorded a loss. The company says it needs to slash $2.7 billion
from annual costs by 2010.
It's easy to understand why the unions are so worried.
With one jet -- the A350 XWB -- just set to begin development, and
another -- the A380 -- nearing first deliveries, there seems to be
few places the company can generate savings other than cutting
labor.