Airbus has started discussions with employee representatives from across its European sites during the European Works Council (SE-WC) meeting with regards to the A380 programme transition and the redeployment of employees.

This follows the 14th February announcement that deliveries of the A380 will end in 2021, with 17 aircraft still to be delivered along with continued support to A380 operators.

Airbus has indicated that 3,000-3,500 positions will be potentially impacted over the next three years, which is equivalent to less than 3% of the company's global workforce. These positions are split approximately between 1,300 blue collar positions and 2,100 white collars.

Per country, this represents 1,100-1,200 employees in Germany, an equivalent number in France, 500-600 in the UK and 400-500 in Spain.

During the meeting, Airbus also presented its roadmap for the A380 programme, which included the smooth transition of serial production, encompassing industrial and procurement adaptation but also in-service support for the years to come.

According to Airbus, about 12,000 of its employees change job every year, and with the ongoing single-aisle ramp-up as well as a strong widebody backlog, a significant number of internal mobility opportunities are available. The company plans to set up dedicated services for competence reconversion to further support cross-functional and cross-programme redeployments.