Airbus share firmer: negotiations between Airbus and IG Metall successful – job security until the end of 2030

Both sides announced this on Tuesday morning. This means that the strikes threatened by Germany’s largest trade union at the aircraft manufacturer should be off the table.

Airbus wants to combine the assembly of aircraft fuselages and structures in a new subsidiary. The Airbus works in Stade, parts of the Hamburg location and the Airbus subsidiary Premium Aerotec with three of the four Augsburg plants and the locations in Bremen and Nordenham would be affected. In addition, the aircraft manufacturer wants to sell the parts production at Premium Aerotec in Augsburg, in Varel in Friesland and in Romania to an investor. The original plan to implement the conversion at the beginning of 2022 was postponed due to resistance from IG Metall and the workforce.

In principle, the trade union was open to an investment solution for parts production, but demanded that parts production be examined at the same time as part of the Airbus Group. The second major area of ​​conflict was the scope of location and employment commitments in Airbus structural assembly. The union is demanding a perspective well into the coming decade when production of a successor to the successful A320 family is due. Behind this is the concern of the union that Airbus could have larger work packages manufactured for the next generation of aircraft in Asia instead of in Germany and Europe. Airbus plans to have a commercial hydrogen-powered passenger aircraft on the market by 2035.

Job security at Airbus until the end of 2030

The employees in civil aircraft production at Airbus are protected from redundancies until the end of 2030. This agreement is part of an extensive package to secure jobs and locations that Airbus and IG Metall agreed on Tuesday morning in Hamburg after around 18 hours of negotiations. The package also provides for the preservation and further development of the individual locations in Germany until the end of 2030, as both sides explained. This was preceded by around ten months of disputes with several series of warning strikes and a total of seven rounds of negotiations.

Airbus and IG Metall have also reached a compromise on the particularly controversial issue of Airbus’ planned spin-off of parts production at its subsidiary Premium Aerotec in Augsburg and Varel. According to this, an investor solution should only be possible if IG Metall agrees. If no investor can be found, parts production would remain with Airbus and be transferred to the planned new subsidiary for the assembly of aircraft fuselages and structures by 2025 at the latest.

The creation of the new subsidiary, internally called “ASA”, affects the Airbus works in Stade, parts of the Hamburg location and the Airbus subsidiary Premium Aerotec (PAG) with locations in Bremen and Nordenham. The original plan to include three of the four PAG plants in Augsburg in this new subsidiary will not be pursued any further.

Automotive supplier from NRW wants to take over parts production from Airbus

The North Rhine-Westphalian car supplier Muhr und Bender KG (Mubea) wants to take over the loss-making individual parts production of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. The company has a “convincing offer” that includes the Augsburg and Varel locations as well as Brasov in Romania, Airbus announced on Tuesday in Hamburg. “The offer includes a comprehensive concept for long-term job security and enables the creation of a competitive German company.” According to Airbus Germany boss Andr Walter, a good 3,000 people are currently employed in the affected division.

The sale of the parts production, which has so far been located at the Airbus subsidiary Premium Aerotec, is part of Airbus’ previously controversial conversion plans for civil aircraft production in Germany. On Tuesday morning, after 18 hours of negotiations, Airbus and IG Metall agreed on a comprehensive package to secure jobs and locations.

This includes the fact that the sale must not go against the will of IG Metall. “In the coming weeks, the employee representatives will examine Mubea’s written offer with regard to locations and employees,” the Airbus statement said. “The final decision on the sale will be made together with the employee representatives.”

The Airbus share is temporarily up 1.53 percent on Tuesday via XETRA to EUR 113.92.

HAMBURG (dpa-AFX)

Image sources: Airbus Group, Airbus