parent company European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company confirmed plans Monday to cut 5,800 jobs in Europe as restructuring of its defense and space operations proceed.
The reorganization plan, presented Monday to the EADS European Works Council, also involves substantial consolidation of operations across Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom and includes the elimination of roughly 500 positions within the company s corporate headquarters.
The announcement comes five months after the EADS Board of Directors voted to . The re-tooling is designed to leverage the success of its Airbus subsidiary to help the company pull alongside arch rival Boeing Co. and potentially double margins by 2015.
Airbus on a at . Dedicated solely to production of the company s single-aisle ,the facility is scheduled to deliver its first Mobile-assembled plane in 2016 and slated to when it reaches full annual production of 40 to 50 aircraft by 2018. (Click to see AL.com's photo gallery of the Mobile final assembly line taking shape.)
EADS Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders expressed in a statement released by the company Monday the sense of immediacy driving the restructuring efforts.
We need to improve our competitiveness in defence and space and we need to do it now, Enders said, adding, With our traditional markets down, we urgently need to improve access to international customers, to growth markets. For that to work, we need to cut costs, eliminate product and resource overlaps, create synergies in our operations and product portfolio and better focus our research and development efforts.
According to the plan, as many as 1,500 employees with Airbus and Eurocopter will be offered redeployment options, and about 1,300 temporary contracts will not be renewed. Total headcount reduction is expected to be complete by the end of 2016.
Our people are key to our company s success and we have a track record of constructive social dialogue that supports the company s development. As the restructuring plan is of paramount importance for the future of our defense and space business, we are committed to mitigating the social impact of the necessary adjustments as much as possible, , chief human resources officer for both EADS and Airbus, said in a prepared statement.
Per the new arrangement, Airbus DS comprised of the former Airbus Military, Astrium and Cassadian should be operational by mid-2014.
The was first announced one year ago as a far-reaching change of the company s shareholding structure and governance.