Final call for superjumbo Low demand leads to Airbus cuts

UNIONS are demanding urgent talks with Airbus after the plane maker confirmed the end for its A380 superjumbo.

Airbus, which recently issued dire warnings about the impact of a no-deal Brexit, said it would stop making the A380 at the end of 2021 because of a lack of demand.

The decision, though expected, has consequences for 6,000 workers at Airbus’s plant in Broughton, Flintshire, and 3,000 at Filton, near Bristol, that make and design wings.

Unite echoed Airbus’s hopes that staff could be redeployed to fulfil orders for some of its other more popular aircraft.

The A380, the world’s largest passenger plane, has faced competition from smaller, more efficient, aircraft. Airbus boss Tom Enders called the decision “painful”.

The firm said a ramp-up in orders for its A320 short/medium-range plane would offer a “significant number of internal opportunities”.

Unite national officer for aerospace Rhys Mccarthy said: “This is a sad day for Airbus’s dedicated UK workforce who have made the iconic A380’s wings since it entered service in 2007.

“It is a much-loved aircraft manufactured by a highly skilled workforce.

“Unite will be seeking urgent assurances from Airbus that there will be no job losses because of the decision to end production of the A380.” Oil = $64.36

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