Several thousand Airbus employees began this Wednesday to demonstrate within the group, on the outskirts of Toulouse, against the plan to cut jobs announced by the aircraft manufacturer, which threatens 5,000 jobs in France including more than 3 500 in Toulouse. 8,000 employees could join the action, scheduled to last 1.5 hours.
At the call of FO, the CFE-CGC and the CFTC, the three main unions of the group, the employees, massed behind a banner proclaiming "No to dismissals" crossed along the runways of Blagnac airport. Objective: reach the aircraft manufacturer's headquarters, where a delegation must be received by members of management.
"Send a strong message but not declare war"
The demonstration, which should require shifting "three or four flights", was organized in concert with the prefecture to minimize the disruption of air traffic, said Florent Veletchy, central union delegate at Airbus CFTC. "We want to send a strong message but not declare war", while negotiations have opened between the management and the unions, which want "zero redundancies," a choice that management has not ruled out. The union trio is counting on early, voluntary departures, long-term partial activity and training facilities, to reduce the scope of the plan, which is expected to come into force by summer 2021.
"Airbus has a real responsibility to control its restructuring, which is excessive and sets a terrible example for suppliers," Jean-François Knepper, Force Ouvrière delegate, told Reuters.
Demonstrations must also be organized in Saint-Nazaire and Nantes, where more than a thousand jobs are threatened.
Another demonstration, this time at the call of the CGT is scheduled for Thursday between Airbus headquarters and the airport, as part of a day of action to support the aeronautics sector, which employs 90,000 people in the former Midi-Pyrénées region.