Airbus to shut a Spanish production plant
Airbus SE have announced plans to merge the activities of its two plants in Spain since the end of the production of A380 superjumbos has left the factories without enough work to sustain them both.
The French company has already held discussions with the Spanish government and unions and aims to avoid forced layoffs, according to a spokeswoman. The company’s proposed merger will mean closing one site. Airbus is yet to determine which plant will remain open.
The decision was not wholly unexpected. Spanish workers held protests over the potential
closure of the Puerto Real plant, where components of the biggest commercial airliner in the skies, the A380, are produced. Airbus said in 2019 that it planned to end production of the double-decker plane.
Around 460 jobs are at risk but the planemaker insisted it will avoid forced layoffs, partly by reviving a voluntary severance package which it used last year after announcing 15,000 job cuts.