May Eventually Idle Thousands Of Jobs Across Its Business

Citing a downturn in the oil and gas industry and other factors, Airbus Group SE has announced it is eliminating 582 jobs from Airbus Helicopters. All the cuts will come from the main Airbus Helicopters base in Marignane, which employs nearly 9,000 people on the outskirts of Paris.

Bloomberg reports that among the company's problems is the loss of an H225 Super Puma in the North Sea on April 29th. Thirteen people were fatally injured in that accident. EASA grounded the type after the accident, and while that grounding has been lifted, the U.K. and Norway have continued to ban flights of the aircraft, which has affected Airbus Helicopers' bottom line.

The accident came while oil and gas companies were already seeing a decline due to persistently low crude prices. Several companies delayed or cancelled orders for large helicopters.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders told employees in September that the cuts were on the horizon. Airbus Helicopters spokesman Yves Barille said that the cuts are planned in 2017 and 2018, and would be accomplished through voluntary departures. Barille said there are no plans to eliminate positions elsewhere in the company.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.airbushelicopters.com